Love is Weird
by Meruda
Summary: Sometimes you can't just be friends. M/F, Light Bondage, Troll x Troll, Please read and review - Note: I do not own World of Warcraft or anything affiliated with it, aside from a mild addiction.
1. Chapter 1

Meruda squirmed on her cot, the woven leather straps that made up the hammock portion squealing in protest, as she tossed from one side to the other. It was the middle of the night in Senjin Village. The desert was as cold as only a desert can become when the sun leaves it, but Meruda was burning up.

It was the jungle heat, the fire raging through her veins. It burned and seared, desperate for .. for what? For something, she couldn't put a name too. She'd tried everything, even one of the witch doctor's Special Cooling Lemon and Frog Spawn drinks, but nothing seemed to satisfy that intolerable burning need. She'd asked Old Mother Dismay, the senior priestess responsible for training Meruda, to help her, but the old witch had just shook her head and said, "Ride it out, young one. S'only way. The heat can't be ignored."

She'd heard some of the older trolls referring to the burn, or to the heat, but they'd never said what the cure was in front of the young priestess-in-training. She moaned as she clenched her legs tightly together, her back arching as she writhed. Everything ached, even her breasts felt heavy and sore, the nipples hard and rubbing painfully against the strips of linen that bound them up.

It was torture. She growled again, as she flipped over onto her back, and squeezed her breasts roughly in frustration, trying to ease the aching. The sudden spike of pain followed by a burning roar of pleasure made her dizzy.

She'd already ripped off all her clothes except the linen strips that served as binding for her breasts and the loincloth trying to cool off, and they were soaked with sweat. The window was wide open, so that the lights and sounds of the Winter Veil festivities came dancing in to mock her. Ice would be forming on the sands outside where the waves left salt water puddles, and she felt like she was outside in the summer noon heat buried in the sand.

She rubbed her hands up and down her thighs and stomach, trying to chase the fire in her veins, to make it stop, but everywhere she touched just got worse. Her skin was so sensitive that everything felt like a caress or a tease, and it was driving her insane.

"Hey.. you ok?"

Meruda went straight up in the air, the tension having wound her so tight that she flew out of bed and landed on the floor, when the voice came from her window.

"Zaljin." She muttered, from her face down position on the floor, before pushing herself upright. "Do I look ok?"

The young troll crouched in her window wore the training robes of the thieves and assassins and spies. The black and grey leathers did a much better job of hiding him in the shadows than the shock of bright red hair that spiked up from his blue scalp.

"Don't yell, you gonna get Mother Dismay in here." He hissed, slipping inside quickly to go listen at the door, so worried for the moment about getting caught in Meruda's room that he didn't notice she was practically naked.

"She drunk on Juju tonight, she wouldn't wake up if I set the hut on fire.." said Meruda, throwing herself back down on the bed, irritation and anger boiling out of her as she glared at her nighttime intruder. Despite the fact he had been her best friend since childhood, she felt like she wanted to fight him or bite him. "What the hell you doing here?"

"Yeah, well if she catches me, I gonna be flunked in my Sneakin' class." Said Zaljin, though he was reassured enough to turn away from the door. His bright green eyes, like a cat's in the dark, saw Meruda stretched out on her bed, her entire body as tense as a bowstring and he stopped dead. He caught himself staring at the fabric straining between the two points of her nipples every time she took a deep breath. His eyes traveled down over her rib cage past the taut muscles of her belly and over the damp fabric between her muscular legs. He was suddenly aware that his best friend was very, VERY female.

His own voice wasn't quite steady as he said, "Buli.. Buli said he heard you moaning like you was sick. And Tomi said you went to see old Obuzu for a potion, so I thought .. " His voice trailed off as Meruda squirmed on her cot, and his mouth went dry as she arched her back in unconscious sensuality, though the look on her face was one of pain.

"I got the jungle heat." Said Meruda, growling the words through gritted teeth. "And can't no one tell me how to fix it. It's driving me crazy!"

Now, while priest-trainees might not hang around the properly seedy atmospheres, the rogue trainees certainly did. All the dirty jokes about heat-crazed women trolls were told and retold with relish, about how the jungle fever would make even the most reserved female willing to fuck anything and anyone with the stamina to survive the experience. Sex with a heat-crazed female was reported to be a cross between trying to fuck a berserker and a grizzly bear, but that was the kind of reputation that simply turned troll men on.

"Oh." Squeaked Zaljin, before he cleared his throat. "Oh." He tugged at his shirt, hoping it was long enough to hide the sudden erection that was now pressing itself painfully against his pants. Trying to remember that this was his friend, he nonetheless kept staring as she squirmed on the bed.

"This is torture!" She said, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes and the ragged pain in her voice caught at him. "It hurts, it hurts so much!"

Maybe better men than Zaljin might have left at this point, after advising quite a bit of masturbation and some lotion. But rogues aren't good at resisting temptation. Especially young ones.

"I .. I could help." He said. "I know how to fix it. The heat I mean. But you might not like it." He sidled up closer to the bed as she turned towards him with feverish hope in her face.

"Any t'ing is better than this!" she said, desperately. "Just fix it!" Her fingers grabbed at his upper arm, and squeezed with painful strength. "Please!"

"Ok.. but you gonna have to trust me." He gave her a nervous grin that deepened Meruda's misgivings. The last time he'd given her that grin, she got punished for two weeks with scrubbing out the voodoo pots. But then a new spike of that odd pain seared through her.

"I trust you, just fix it!" she begged.

Zaljin took a deep breath, and put one hand over her mouth, before sliding the other one down into her loincloth. His fingers pressed hard against the folds of her pussy, rubbing gently until they parted.

Meruda's eyes went wide behind his hand as Zaljin slid his hand down her loincloth. She screeched in shock and protest, her hands coming up to grab his arm, but he'd prudently muffled her mouth so the noise didn't go far. She started squirming, and he leaned his body in to hold her down.

"You gotta trust me!" He whispered, even as he slid a finger inside her easily. She was so hot and wet, that Zaljin made a noise in his throat. "This is how you fix the heat." His voice had gotten rougher, as he could feel her breasts pressing against his arm. Her eyes went wide and feral as he started fingering her.

"See? Feels good don't it.." He could see the response in her eyes as she closed them in brief relief, the pleasure swamping and drowning some of the fiery pain. "If I take my hand away, you gotta promise me you ain't gonna scream.. "

He slipped two fingers inside her , the big troll digits filling and stretching her, putting out the painful fires and starting new ones. She nodded as the pleasure increased, and he took his hand off her mouth, and used it to yank her breast binding off.

"You got awful fine tits, Meruda.." He said, as he started rubbing and massaging them.

"Oh sweet Hazzak!" Sh0e shrieked as he plucked a nipple, and the hand went right back over her mouth.

"Shitshitshitshit… You gotta be quiet!" He hissed, the hand that was inside her stopping its motion. Meruda whimpered behind his hand, her hips squirming in desperate plea for him to continue what he was doing.

Zaljin looked back towards the door, listening for footsteps, but still heard nothing. "Maybe it be too much to ask you to be quiet when you in the heat. Well, I can fix that too.." He moved his hands up to her breasts and untied the binding.

"Please don't stop!" whispered Meruda, anguish in her voice, "The hurting stops when .. when ya do that. I'm sorry, it's just too hard to be quiet."

Zaljin nodded, "I know.." And proceeded to gag her with the breast binding, knotting it behind her head. "There ya go. Now ya can't scream." And then his hands started kneading her breasts. Meruda arched her back underneath him, pressing them into his hands. He smiled and plucked both nipples, eliciting another muffled shriek, but this time Meruda reached up and dug her nails into his back, drawing blood through the leather he was wearing.

"Ow! Those tits be mighty fine, but lady, your nails gotta go or you gonna bleed me dry."

He grabbed a dagger out of his pocket, and cut the sides of her loincloth, pulling it away. He grabbed both her hands, and quickly tied them together above her head to the bedframe with what was left of her loincloth.

Meruda moved her hips again in frustration, her eyes glaring at him to tell him what she wanted.

"I know what you need Meruda, don' worry." He stood up, and quickly stripped. Meruda's eyes travelled down his tall rangy form, coming to a full halt at his big, throbbing, no-way-is-that-going-to-fit. She promptly panicked, and started rocking back and forth, so that the bed started banging against the floor.

Zaljin quickly moved to lay on top of her, stilling the rocking motion immediately as she couldn't move both their weights. "Don' worry.." He said, stroking her hair, while the other hand played with her breast and nipple. "Don' worry. I'll be gentle, and it'll cure the heat, I promise."

She sighed underneath the gag as his hand played with her breast, and he felt her relax underneath him.

He grinned at her. "Sides.. this gonna be fun!" He hoped it would be. He'd been saving up for a hooker to lose his virginity to, and he'd been listening to all the stories of the older rogues very carefully. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the gag. She blinked at him, and for a moment he wondered if she was seeing him differently now too, as a male instead of her best friend.

He slid down her body so he wouldn't have to think about those uncomfortable thoughts, until he found himself face to face with one very hard nipple. He leaned forward and sucked on it, moving one hand down to play with her pussy again.

The groans from behind the gag made him grin, as Meruda made her pleasure known, by spreading her legs, allowing him to shove two fingers back into her hot wet hole.

"Told ya ya'd like it. Jungle heat, ya gotta ride it out. Lucky for choo, I'm here for ya riding pleasure." He growled, teeth nipping the nipple he'd been tormenting. Even with his weight on top of her, she still arched up, nearly bucking him off. "If ya don't throw me off.." The wetness made soft sucking noises as he moved his fingers in and out, and his small store of patience ran out. He moved to kneel between her legs, lifting her hips, as he placed the bulbous head of his cock against her opening.

She cooperated, bracing her feet on the rails of the bed, as he slowly shoved his dick into her. He reached up to play with her breasts once he was all the way in, even as she squirmed around him, the discomfort warring with that driving need for what she now vaguely understood to be some sort of sexual completion. She pulled hard against the bindings of her hands, wanting to bite and scratch and somehow drive him into giving it to her faster, regardless of how much it hurt later. The feral growls coming from her throat were a little scary. Zaljin was glad he'd tied her down.

"Nah, gotta be patient. Ya feel good, Meruda. But ya feel better if it don't hurt. S'what Mazzy told me."

She yanked on the bindings again impatiently, even though some small part of her could feel herself relaxing around him, feel that swirling pleasure building up from her nipples where he was fondling her tits.

Zaljin was sweating with the effort of holding still. He didn't want to hurt his friend, even as the sight of her breasts, and the feeling of her pussy around him was driving him wild. But he felt his self-control slipping away as he started to move in and out of her, squeezing her breasts a little harder now.

Meruda wasn't helping, as she wrapped her legs around him to pull him in to her, digging her heel into his spine to make him go faster. The muffled grunts and moans and what he suspected were un-priestlike curse words also weren't helping.

It wasn't long before the bed was squeaking and groaning again, but this time with the noises of two half-grown trolls fucking with all the fervor of desperate youthful desire. Meruda was screaming behind her gag in joy and exultation as she felt the release she needed so badly approaching. Zaljin felt her spasm around him, an orgasm so intense that it clamped down on him like a vise. He couldn't hold out any longer, and his own release took over, as he growled something profane in a reverent tone of voice, shoving as deeply inside her as he could.

Afterwards, he collapsed on top of her, the heavy weight pressing the breath out of her, until he managed to prop himself up on one elbow. He looked at her anxiously, "Ya all right?" He reached up to remove the gag, and she took a deep breath in and then exhaled.

"Oh thank all the nine voodoun gods it don't hurt anymore.." She whispered, eyes closed. She opened them as she turned her head to look at him. She blushed as she realized he was looking back at her. Neither one of them said anything for a moment, smiling nervously at each other, under that lazy haze of contentment.

Meruda eventually whispered, "I didn't know ya felt that way."

Zaljin yawned sleepily, as he reached over to slowly stroke her breast again with a lazy caress. "Felt what way?"

"Like … " Meruda started to try to make a gesture and just yanked on the bindings again. "Like ya wanted to mate with me."

Zaljin toppled out of the bed in surprise and panic. "Wait what? Who said I wanted to mate with ya?"

Meruda's mouth dropped open in equal surprise. "Ya just … but .. we just .."

"Well ya were naked and hot, I figured why not? Be cheaper than a hooker, right?" Zaljin said, trying to joke, as he zoomed around the room grabbing his clothes and getting back into them as fast as possible. He paused as he realized that maybe that last part didn't come out right, "Wait.. that's not what I meant."

It was too late. Meruda's eyes were filling up with tears, the hurt plain on her face as it crumpled, and then she turned away. "Get out."

"Look that's not what I .." he started.

"OUT!" Meruda screamed, and the sounds of Mother Dismay snorting awake were clear from down the hall.

"Girl? Ya ok?" They both heard her call, even as her stumping steps started down the hallway.

"Shitshitshitshitshit!" Zaljin dove for the window, sliding down the roof, and landing hard down on the packed sand below.

Mother Dismay came hobbling in, and took in the scene. Meruda naked and tied to the bed and looking like she might cry. But the old priestess didn't say anything as she walked over, and untied Meruda. When Meruda didn't say anything, the old priestess shrugged a shoulder and said, "Might be helpin' if ya took some of the lotus juice.. help you sleep. Heat makes ya do strange things. And put ya night gown back on child. It's too cold to be runnin' around skin out."

"Yes Mother Dismay," mumbled Meruda in complete embarrassment. She grabbed the blanket as soon as her hands were free, wrapping it around herself tightly. She now felt every bite of the freezing cold air, as she went over to shut and lock her window. Mother Dismay went back to bed, and Meruda went to put her nightgown on, and get the glass of lotus juice.

"No more men." She muttered firmly, as she poured out the lotus juice. "No more rogues, and damn sure no more… anything."


	2. Chapter 2

Five Years Later

It was dark in the goblin inn, the few guttering lamps inadequate for more than casting shadows on the pineapple wallpaper peeling off the walls. The goblins were clever at machinery, but they had no sense of cleanliness or aesthetics. The food wasn't good but the beer was cheap and plentiful, so the dive bar in Booty Bay was always full.

Despite the full crowd, it was surprisingly quiet. The kind of people that came here to drink came here because they weren't allowed anywhere else. The bouncers helped enforce the unspoken rules that made it a perfect haven for spies, thieves, assassins, and other lowlifes that made their fortunes in the shadows. Don't force your company on another. Don't look like you're trying to eavesdrop, even if you are, or start a fight. Watch out for your own back, because no one else cares. The bay is a handy place to dump extra bodies.

Zaljin liked Booty Bay. There were so many back ways and alleys and causeways and places to sneak. It was one of his favorite bars in Azeroth, but tonight, something wasn't right. He couldn't figure out what it was, but something or someone in here was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Instead of having his usual pint at the bar, he opted to slink into a dark corner and see if he could see what was making him so jumpy.

He headed for his usual corner, but was disconcerted to find it occupied by a stranger wearing a full body cloak with a dark hood. He couldn't see anything of the figure's face, though the hand holding the mug was that of a female troll. He turned and moved to the table next to his corner, staring resentfully at the stranger.

_Always take the opportunity to study the competition._ That was one of Spymaster Algida's rules. Don't rush. Always look for the details that might mean a weakness.

The stranger wasn't looking at him. Best he could tell, they were staring at one of the bar's occupants, named "One Shank" Hank. That was interesting. "One Shank" Hank was _his_ intended target for the night. Algida wanted answers on who was supplying the Vilebranch trolls with the magic items they were using against the Darkspear and Revantusk.

But the longer he watched, the more convinced he became that he was watching an amateur. A professional wouldn't have been so obvious about who they were watching. The choice of corner was good, but Hank hadn't survived Booty Bay this long by being stupid. _His _seat faced the bar mirror. And he was well aware of the cloaked stranger watching him.

Zaljin sighed and muttered a curse into his beer. Fucking amateurs ruined the best operations. The stranger and Hank both sat nursing their beers until closing time, waiting until everyone left the bar. Zaljin left the bar an hour before closing time, obviously drunk and singing a rude song about a priestess and a jackass.

When Hank left, the cloaked stranger got up quickly to follow him. Zaljin was waiting outside, having hidden himself in one of the odd shadows caused by the slapdash building methods of the goblins. He'd been there long enough to know that three of Hank's friends were also waiting.

Hank came sauntering out of the building, and the cloaked stranger followed quickly behind him.

"Hank!" The cloaked figure called, and Zaljin's hackles rose up. That voice seemed familiar.

Hank turned around, unsurprised. "Yes?"

The cloaked figure pushed its hood back, partially revealing the face of a fully adult troll female, the staff in her hand marking her as a priestess.

"Someone be saying ya sellin' trinkets to da Vilebranch, Hank." The priestess's voice was perfectly calm, even though the aura of magic around her was tingling in the air.

"Someone be thinking ya shouldn't be sellin' power to the enemies of the Darkspear." She said.

Zaljin's eyes narrowed. He _knew_ that voice. But he hadn't heard it in years, and memory was eluding him.

"Oh yeah?" Said Hank. "What do you think SOMEONE intends to do about it?"

The priestess smiled, and turned a little, so now that Zaljin could see her face. "We gonna kill ya of course."

"Boys!" yelled Hank. "Teach this interfering bitch a lesson."

Zaljin pinched the bridge of his nose. Of all the dive bars in all the world, **she** had to walk into this one. He recognized the priestess, who was no longer smiling as the other three guys came barreling out of the woodwork.

She was quick though. He saw the magic bubble that served as a force field pop up around the priestess as she began throwing curses and dark magic spells around. Some of the men screamed in pain as the spells hit. This was not the gentle magic of the healers. This was the magic of the darkness and the shadows. This was the magic of the shadow priests.

But the four men together were starting to overwhelm her. One of Hank's knives got through her bubble and sliced open her arm, and when she cried out in pain, Zaljin couldn't wait anymore. He slipped up behind one of the men who was about to club Meruda with a broken bottle and promptly slit his throat. The next one he stabbed in the kidneys before slipping his blade between his ribs. Without the two additional men beating on her, Meruda was able to re-call her shield, and focus her energies on Hank and his last friend.

Between her spells and Zaljin's knives, the two men fell quickly, but it wasn't soon enough that Meruda's injuries were minor. She was bleeding heavily from a slash in her side, and there was a nasty bruise on her cheek. She hadn't recognized Zaljin in the heat of the battle, as she knelt there, heavily on the dock, breathing hard.

"Thanks." She said shortly. He didn't answer.

Zaljin occupied himself picking the pockets of the dead men he'd killed, while the priestess pulled herself together. After a moment, she murmured the words of a potent healing spell. She leaned over to start going through Hank's pockets, while her wounds knit themselves and closed. She pulled out a ledger from a small pocket, and flipped through it.

"That's what I need." She murmured, before tucking it in her pocket.

"Actually, that's what we both be needin'." Said Zaljin.

The priestess stood up and turned around, with a polite smile on her face that disappeared the moment she really looked at him.

They stared at each other, both cataloguing the changes in the other in the last five years. Zaljin's rangy musculature had filled out and become the fully muscular physique of the adult male troll. His tusks were large and magnificent. He also had gained the ability to lie, cheat, and steal effectively, to deceive and to strike quickly. There was none of the indecisive boy left behind in the hard-faced troll that looked at her, with his enemy's blood drying on his face.

Meruda had grown a few inches herself, and her figure had only improved in its proportions. She also had the dignity and confidence of a priestess in full control of her power, an assurance that the gawk y girl had not. Her eyes were darker with the shadows that moved with her and gave her power.

She also spoke first. "Normally I would agree to share, but I'm afraid I don't trust ya any more." The ice in her tone would have frozen over Ragnarok.

"I wasn't askin' to share, priestess." If her words hurt him, it didn't show on his face or in the light mocking tone of his voice.

"I imagine he has another copy in his quarters. I'd recommend looking there."

"It be a good place, but your pocket seems more expedient to me. I'm in a hurry."

"So what else is new." The glare in her eyes told him that he was not forgiven for his hasty retreat five years ago, or what he had said. "Pity ya have to take the hard way this time."

Zaljin stretched up to his full height, almost a foot taller than he had been before. Meruda managed to keep herself from staring. "It's only the hard way if ya not feeling cooperative."

"I wouldn't hold your breath waitin' for me to be cooperative. I grew out of my stupid phase." Meruda turned and started walking down the docks. "On second thought .. go ahead and hold it."

Zaljin shrugged and reached for the blackjack in his pocket. "If ya insist." His footsteps behind her were so quick and quiet she didn't even hear him coming until the blackjack hit the back of her head. He caught her before her unconscious body hit the ground.

"What's that priestess? Ya wanna go back to my room with me? Well if you insist.. No, no.. don't beg, it's demeanin' for both of us." Zaljin said cheerfully, as he hoisted her over his shoulders.

He kicked a couple of the bodies into the bay as he walked back to the inn to help out the bruisers who waved at him in acknowledgement. "Gonna be a good night boys!" He said.

"Troll romance is weird." Said one of the bruisers.

"All romance is weird." Said the other as he manhandled Hank's body into the waters.

Meruda woke up a few hours later in bed, with an absolutely raging headache. The room swam dizzily into focus. It took a few minutes before she was absolutely certain that those weren't the curtains that had been in her room. Also, she was freezing. She started to reach down for the blanket, but her hands wouldn't move.

"What the hell now." She muttered, squinting around the room.

It was definitely not her room. Her room didn't look like a pigsty. There were clothes on the floor, and weapons everywhere that weren't hers. But there was some strangely familiar scent in the room, and it made her nervous.

She looked down, and realized that she was naked. Even her amulet was missing. And her ankles were tied to the bottom two corners of the bed. Experimentation showed that her hands were currently tied to the top two corners.

She muttered a few choice curse words. This was not good She couldn't remember what happened for the moment. Thinking hurt. Last night, she'd gone to tha' shithole bar to find Hank. Yes. She'd found Hank, she remembered that part, and Zaljin had been there.

But a different Zaljin, not her former friend. Outrage came shortly thereafter at the realization that Zaljin had probably knocked her out, stolen the journal, and left her there in a horribly embarrassing situation.

"I am going to hunt him down, and skin him from the toes up for this." She hissed through clenched teeth. One of the shadows moved when she spoke.

"That don't sound real friendly. I guess ya be awake, priestess."

The stream of profanity and cursing that followed impressed even the rogue. "And if ya don't untie me and give me back mah property this instant, I will KILL ya slowly!"

Zaljin set down the journal he'd been reading and committing to memory. He got up from his chair, stretching again, before loping over to crouch down next to the bed.

"Choo ain't got no sense of situational awareness priestess. First t'ing, I saved your life last night. Those backyard thugs would've fed you to the sharks after they had their fun." He saw Meruda go pale, remembering now that she had an absolute horror of sharks. "Yeah, the swimming things with the teeth. So you might think 'bout being nice. Second of all, it ain't my fault you collapsed all of a sudden unconscious. Instead of leaving you out there for the bruisers to deal with, I brought you back up here, and tied you in the bed so you wouldn't fall out." He scratched his chin, "Oh yeah, and thirdly, priestess, when you're tied up and naked, making death threats against whoever tied you up and took your clothes but didn't kill you, MIGHT just prove enough of an incentive to make them change their mind. So put a sock in it, would ya? I'm trying to read."

Meruda stared at him for a minute, and then said, "If ya think I'm buyin' that load of trash, ya either drunk or delirious. I'd bet my staff that the reason I collapsed unconscious is because ya sapped me. And ya took my clothes and tied me up so I wouldn't beat the ever-loving shit out of ya."

Zaljin steepled his fingers, elbows resting on his knees, a little surprised she'd zeroed in on his motives so accurately. "Probably be a good bet, but that's because ya don't belong here priestess. As soon as I'm done reading the book, and getting mah report off, you can go home where ya belong." He paused debating whether to add insult to injury, and then went ahead, saying deliberately, "Unless ya want to hang around. Ya still got awful nice tits." He even reached over and caressed one, plucking at the nipple that was pointed and hard in the cold air.

Meruda didn't move or make a sound, glaring at him, but the sudden clench of her jaw was enough to tell him the truth of her reaction.

"Dat's great. Ya finally learned to shut up." He turned and went back to his chair, wondering if his point had been made. He'd been angry last night once he'd realized who the priestess was. She had no business being here, tangling with the dangerous trash that filled Booty Bay. She ought to be back in Sen'jin Village, being a healer or a teacher or something. She didn't have the training to survive by herself. That much was clear from last night. If he hurt her pride enough maybe she'd realize it and go away.

He ignored the fact that he would have been hard-pressed to deal with Hank and his friends by himself as well, staring at the book. It took him a few minutes to realize that he couldn't remember a word of the last page he'd read. He was partly angry at himself for being distracted by his old friend's reappearance, and partly angry at her for taking on those guys and almost getting herself killed in front of him. They could have worked past the misunderstanding a few years ago, but she'd refused to talk to him or see him again after that night. She'd absolutely ignored his letters and his presents, and she put new bars on her window that he couldn't get past. Eventually he'd given up and left for Orgrimmar, but seeing her again had brought the hurt back, and he was not happy about realizing that his adult self was still bothered by that. It was old news. He'd let it go. Or thought he had.

_And she does still have nice tits_, said a random thought.

Oh no, none of that now. The taking her clothes and tying her up WAS so she couldn't attack him, though he'd been appreciative enough of the view. There were no other motives.

He tried reading for a few more pages before he gave up. "I'm gonna go get some food. I don't recommend ya scream, 'cause the rescue ain't likely to be helpful." He warned, before he fled downstairs.

He half-expected there to be a scream the instant he left the room, and was annoyed to discover she was intelligent enough to agree with his assessment. He got one of the seafood platters from the bartender who waggled his eyebrows knowingly at the troll.

"Heard some screaming, want some wine? Guaranteed to improve the mood!"

Zaljin closed his eyes for a second. A drink sounded like a good idea. "Sure mon."

Balancing the tray and the bottle, he headed back upstairs, waiting until the hall was empty before he opened the door.

"I'm back." He said unnecessarily, since her head had turned to the door the instant it had opened.

The dawn was breaking through the window, and the sun gilded the surface of her skin, catching all the tiny little hairs and turning them into golden dust. He paused, struck by how much her body had changed, in ways he could see much better in the light. Her muscles were more defined, and present, but more surprising were the myriad little scars that played across her form. She saw him looking and turned over as much as possible, giving him her back. There were more scars there. Claw marks from animal attacks, big ones, judging by the size. One puckered mark on her thigh he knew came from poisoned Naga arrows. There were marks on her legs from the large brambles that filled the quillboar ravines. And a bite that came from nothing but a snapping turtle. A big one.

He recognized all the scars, because he had them himself, or had seen them inflicted on friends. The scars weren't those of someone who was afraid of danger.

He felt ashamed instantly for the way he'd treated her, as if she was a child that was unaware of the dangers of the world. The naïve innocent she had been was as gone as the one he'd been.

Her flaming red hair was braided up in a coronet around her head, but the braids were coming loose. Longer than he'd remembered. He admired the curve of her spine, and the roundness of her hips, before he moved over to sit on the bed. The weight of his body on the mattress made it dip towards him, so that she had to turn back over towards him.

"Now, if you think you won't fall out, I'll untie you so you can sit up and eat. But don't do anything stupid, or I won't tell you where I hid your gear."

The cold blankness in her eyes when she turned to look at him hurt. It was as if he didn't matter any more to her than the dresser or the bad wall paper. Utter indifference was all he saw. "Fine." She said, in that same cool tone of voice.

He reached over and untied her wrists with a quick flick of a hand, careful not to touch her skin. He was already uncomfortably aroused with her nakedness so near to him.

_Apparently I need to visit the hookers more often_, he thought callously, trying to regain that aloofness that had served as his shield for years.

She sat up, and grabbed the blanket, twisting it around to cover her adequately, if in a fashion that made him think of simply ripping it away. There was definitely too much creamy blue thigh and the swell of her breasts was far too visible.

He handed her the platter, even as he took a swig of the wine. She started shoving the food into her mouth quickly. He recalled he hadn't seen her eat since she entered the bar last night. "You might want to eat slowly," he cautioned. "Blows to the head can sometimes make you.."

She turned green, and he grabbed for the chamber pot, barely getting it up in time to avoid the vomit splashing onto his lap.

"Nauseous."

He waited until she was done retching before handing her the bottle of wine. "It's good for rinsin' your mouth out. Not so much for drinking."

She didn't look at him as she took the bottle, swigged from it, swished it around in her mouth, and then spat it back into the chamber pot.

One heavy braid fell down to land on her shoulder, trailing down to in between her breasts.

"This has been an awful week." She muttered, rubbing at her head, which ached like the devil. She handed the bottle back.

"Just give me my stuff back, and the journal when you're done with it, and we'll call the whole thing square." She said tiredly, still not looking at him. It was easier not to look at him. Not to remember how much it had hurt when he'd said he just fucked her to save money on a hooker. Not to remember how much she'd missed her best friend, and how much she regretted that entire night. Or how mad she'd been later at the fact that she'd been too proud and too embarrassed to even look at the half-hearted attempts to apologize for simply saying what he thought.

It'd been easier to go on the quests. To go out into the world alone. Danger had a way of concentrating the mind so you didn't mope. After a while, she'd just simply stopped thinking about it. And though she hadn't forgotten, she hadn't remembered either.

She'd been lucky. Hadn't run into him in the various places she'd travelled. Wherever the trolls had decided to send her, he had apparently been needed elsewhere. When she'd seen him come into the bar last night, she should have just walked out, returned the quest with a polite refusal, and taken a wyvern to the Hinterlands or somewhere else far far away.

But now she wanted to finish the deal, if for no other reason than because Zaljin seemed to think she couldn't get the job done. She would have gotten it done. She would have thought of something. She had still had a few last ditch efforts up her sleeve to use. But she wasn't going to bother to explain that. He wouldn't believe it anyways, the jerk. She was so tired. The long night, the massive fight for her life, and the exhaustion of healing afterwards when she was completely spent on mana all demanded for some sleep.

She leaned down to untie her feet, half expecting him to stop her.

Zaljin watched her reach down to untie the knots at her ankles. Which was more like he watched the sheet fall away from her spine, exposing her back down to the curve of her buttocks.

"Lemme guess. Murloc camp, down near Westfall." One of his fingers lightly traced one of the scars that ran down her spine.

She froze absolutely still for a minute when he touched her. When she spoke, it was still in those cold, emotionless tones. "Could be. Don't remember."

"Sure ya do. Little fuckers, lots of those shell-point spears with all the edges. An' the bits break off inside, and ya have to get a friend with tweezers get 'em out. "

"Whatever ya say, mon." He saw she was struggling with the secret half-hitch he put in the ankle bindings and smirked. He was good with knots. He often found it convenient to tie problems up for later.

"This one .. harpy claws? From Stonetalon?" His palm pressed against a series of three marks on her shoulderblade, a warm and heavy pressure that seemed to press on a spot of tension releasing it. She relaxed under his palm for a split second before her spine went ramrod straight again.

She 'hmph'ed, and tried to hitch the sheet back up, but doing so almost lost the whole thing. "Yeah."

Zaljin sighed mentally. Being subtle was sometimes overrated. "You got lots of scars. Lots of battles." His fingers started kneading the muscles of her back. Rogue training involved lots of anatomy. It made it easier to paralyze someone if you knew where the nerves were. Or to inflict a poison into a proper vein. Or to make sure your knife didn't catch on the ribs. Most people didn't know the way to a man's heart. Zaljin knew it was between the third and fourth rib, with a twist to get behind the sternum. However it was also good for relaxing people.

Meruda yanked at the knots in frustration, trying to hold onto her anger and dignity even as his fingers were working their magic on her back. If she protested, he'd know she cared one way or the other. She wasn't going to give him even that much. Her eyes studied the knots. It was just a puzzle. She was good at puzzles.

"Lots of tension too. You didn't used to be this uptight." His fingers traveled up and down her back, massaging with gentle pressure.

"Half-hitch. Cute." She reached down and pulled at the right spot, causing the entire knot to fall away. Zaljin's grin froze for a second in annoyance, but he shifted a fold of the sheet under his knee so that it wouldn't move.

She promptly pulled her feet underneath her and started to turn so that her back was to the window, and not to his fingers. But as she turned, the sheet didn't. She grabbed for it and pulled, managing to only get a corner, which was less adequate coverage than before.

He grinned, watching her trying so hard not to look pissed off, while fumbling with the sheet that wasn't doing a damn thing to hide anything of interest with the sun behind her like that. A shadow moving behind her caught his eye, and he suddenly lunged at her, pulling her down on top of him.

"What da HELL d'ya…" Meruda got out in an enraged shriek, before the window smashed over top of them from the crossbow bolt travelling through it.

"Idiots. Can't even tell the difference between a female and a male troll." He muttered underneath her.

"Zaljin." Meruda whispered.

"Probably the Bloodsail. I been pissin' in their beer all week." He noticed she wasn't making any move to get off him, and decided not to rock the boat, as he slowly stroked her shoulders.

"Zaljin.." She whispered again.

"Don't need to thank me for savin' ya life again, lass." He said suavely as he stared down at the cleavage inches away from his face. His interest was definitely fully awake and starting to throb at the feeling of her warm naked body pressing against his.

She slid a hand slowly up his chest.

"Mmm.. I like where this be goin'."

Her fingers grabbed his tusk and pulled his eyes up, so that he could see the pain in her eyes and the paleness in her face.

"Ya need … to .. get the .. glass out." She said, slowly and as distinctly as possible, before she passed out.

"What?" He sat up suddenly, and looked over her shoulder to the bloody mess her back and haunches had become, when the glass had exploded on top of her.

"Oh. Oops."

This time when Meruda awoke, it was dark, and everything hurt. And there was something warm and heavy laying next to her.

She shifted onto one elbow, ignoring the screech of pain from the cuts on her back. She could feel the power again, and she muttered a healing spell hopefully. They didn't come easily to the shadow wielders, and she had none of her amulets or rings that gave her spells the real power. She felt crippled, like her being had been amputated. She hadn't realized how used to their boosts she'd gotten.

The spell seemed to be working though, as the sting of the wounds on her back faded away. She was surprised she didn't feel any shards of glass being wiggled out by the healing spell. Zaljin must have gotten all the little bits out. A good healing spell WOULD remove the glass, but it was a painful and agonizing process as the magic wiggled and shifted the sharp pieces around healing cells. It was much better to remove all the foreign debris first, and then do the healing spell after the wounds were clean.

She tried to roll over, but she was trapped by the sheet, that was pinned under the heavy weight next to her. She glanced over, seeing the familiar form of Zaljin curled up around her, and promptly dug an elbow into his ribs.

"Umph!" The rogue was instantly awake, though he didn't open his eyes or tense up, instead making a mumbling noise as if he was still mostly asleep, as he reached for Meruda, pulling her tightly against him with both arms wrapping around her body. "Don't be grumpy baby.. I'll give ya what ya want."

"I don't want anything ya crazy troll. Just let me up." Meruda said, a little too disoriented and dizzy to easily wiggle free from his strong grip.

He nuzzled up next to the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her neck, nibbling gently while his tusks rubbed against her shoulders with the motions. The top arm that was clutched around her started playing with one breast, the sheet the only protection from his fingers. The bottom arm started stroking her crotch and thigh with absent gestures that seemed frustratingly off-target through the scratchy wool blanket.

"Hey, knock it off!" Meruda tried to elbow him again, but he had her pulled too closely. She tried to kick him, but one of his long legs immediately wrapped on top of hers. This brought his pelvis tight against her ass, and she could feel his erection pressing against the cheeks of her ass. He pressed it hard against her.

"You mah favorite hooker Chayani, but how many go rounds you think a poor troll got in him? Four's enough for a heat-ridden hunter, ya greedy bint." He mumbled sleepily, still nibbling and nuzzling away.

Between his hands kneading her breast and nipple, and the nuzzling at the back of her neck, and the disorientation and dizziness that comes with recent blood loss and waking up, Meruda was lost in pleasurable sensations. It had been .. well, five years since she'd had sex. And while the fight afterwards was a nightmare, she had way too many dreams about the good part. She knew her friends called her cold, 'cause she refused to go to the parties on the islands where sex was indiscriminate and supposedly consequence-free. She wouldn't let them set her up on outings, and the flirtatious male trolls had learned to steer clear unless they wanted a disproportionately angry response applied upside their heads. She wasn't going to go through that pain of rejection ever again. But it was dark now, and she was far from home. She was lonely and horny and she wanted to not be the strong, indomitable, single priestess for a while. And he'd already rejected her, so it wasn't like he could hurt her any worse. She could smell the wine strongly on his breath, and it reassured her. He wouldn't remember.

He didn't think it was her. He was still asleep, probably drunk, and dreaming of some hooker he knew named Chayani. What would it hurt to play along? He would think it was only a dream. And in the muzzy darkness she shifted, pressing back against him, and sliding her leg out to wrap it over his, opening herself up to him.

Zaljin chuckled behind her, as his fingers moved inside the sheet to tweak her nipples. He smiled as she whimpered in response, though he wondered if it had been overkill to gargle with the rotgut that innkeeper claimed was wine. He'd been serious when he told her it wasn't worth drinking. But the devil's in the details. Follow through all the way with a picture, if you want people to believe in its reality. Thoroughness was the number one requirement for a good spy.

He yawned again, and sighed, still mumbling. "Fine, ya horny slut, but you be on top. M'Like the way your tits bounce." He flopped over on his back, and started snoring, revealing the fact that he was wearing nothing more than a linen loincloth and a leather thong around his neck, though if it was holding a token of some variety, it had moved itself behind his head.

Meruda stared at him in surprise, but his moving had freed the sheet pinning her in place. She carefully untangled herself, and started to slide over his body, trying not to wake him up. He moved suddenly halfway through, and she found herself straddling him, her heat directly pressing on his erection. She bit her lip, trying to strangle the involuntary moan at the way he felt between her legs. Would it really be so wrong? Ok, so maybe it might technically be rape to take advantage of him when he didn't know it was her.. but if he never knew it was real, would it count?

He lifted his hips underneath her, mumbling, "Ya hot, wench.. Can feel ya burnin'." , before going back to snoring, a hand lazily cupping her butt with familiarity. "Getting' fat Chayani.. I like it.. Now just climb on…. Mmmm… yeah, like that…"

Meruda froze when he moved underneath her, even as a groan slipped out at the sudden spike of desire caused by him moving between her thighs. But when he still seemed to be deep in his dream, her courage returned, and her desire to indulge in foolishness for one night no one but her would ever remember rose.

She reached down, and untied his linen loincloth, letting him spring forth, a heavy weight in her hand. She slowly stroked his dick. She hadn't looked at it much before, and definitely hadn't gotten to touch. He groaned in his sleep as her fingers wrapped around him.

"Yeah.. ride me … Mmm.. ya my favorite whore, Chayani.."

She moved up forward, positioning herself directly over him. She didn't care whether he woke up or not. She wanted to feel that wonderful bliss that drowned all the fires of desire again. She wanted him inside her. She slowly squirmed down onto his cock, and a throaty moan escaped her. It felt so good to have him filling her, rubbing all those sensitive spots she never could quite reach.

Her hips started to move forward, clumsily riding him, until the hand on her hip gently guided her into a rhythm.

Zaljin growled through clenched teeth as she slid herself down on him. It was purest torture to lay there, and not reach for those perfect breasts bouncing above him. He could barely remember to keep snoring every so often, because the priestess riding his cock was doing her best to drive him insane. She'd go fast for a few seconds, then slow. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, judging by the soft noises she was trying so hard not to make. He was watching her through the slits of his barely closed eyes, the dark hiding the gleam as she rode herself to an orgasm. He could feel her shuddering spasms around him, and he wanted to howl in frustration as she stopped moving entirely to savor the sensation.

He had been close, so close to his own release. He was about to "wake up" and flip her over for a good hard pounding, when she started moving again. And this time she was riding him smooth and hard, her fingers coming up to tickle at his nipples. He moaned involuntarily at her touch, his hands coming up to cup her hips, squeezing and urging her on.

If he hadn't felt her lean forward, she might have surprised him into opening his eyes when she growled softly into his ear, "Don't ya like the way I ride ya cock, mon? Ya keep tellin' me I'm ya favorite slut, but ya just conning a long ride 'cause ya know I love ya dick inside me. Now come on.. I wanna feel ya cock come inside me.. I wanna feel ya love juice dripping down mah leg. Fuck me like ya mean it, and maybe ya Chayani will ride ya again."

Hearing the dirty talk from Meruda sent Zaljin over the edge. He half arose, sliding his hands around to her ass cheeks so he could pull her body down as he thrust up inside her hard, before his own orgasm hit, and hit hard. It made him dizzy as he drifted along on the high of pure sexual satisfaction, tinged with the amusement at a well-crafted seduction.

_Definitely need to visit the hookers more often. _ He thought, though it was with the rueful admission that none of them were as hot and wild as Meruda. Rented passion tended more towards the tepid and skillful. Sex was more interesting when you didn't know every move that was coming.

He yawned, and was about to "wake up" so that hopefully now they could get things straightened out between them, when the blackjack he'd left on the table next to the bed expertly whacked him on the temple.

As Zaljin fell back on the pillows unconscious, Meruda slid over him and out of the bed. She stood up and stretched, a smirk crossing her features as she felt the dampness trickle down her thighs. A strange thrill ran through her, as she looked back at Zaljin, unconscious with a smile. But it was time to go. She looked around the room carefully. It was just another puzzle, where he hid her stuff. She found the journal, along with his completed report on the nightstand under a pornographic magazine of gnomes in bikinis. She took both. She found her robe hiding underneath a chair cushion. Her staff was under the bed. She found her rings and trinkets in a clever waterproof pouch glued inside the chamber pot. Her shoes were in a pair of his boots, and her hat and shoulders were packed inside a box labeled "T-N-T, Gnomeregan Exiles" She found her underwear and pants wadded up behind the dresser. Her bags were filling out the pillow cases.

But she couldn't find her necklace. She looked over every square inch of the room, but she couldn't find it. He moaned once, and she jumped in fright. It was too risky, and she didn't want to wait any longer. She'd just get a new one made. She moved quickly towards the door, where she paused, and whispered, "Good bye, Zaljin." , and then locked it behind her.

She headed downstairs quickly, trying not to look like she hadn't had a shower in two days while having wild sex, trying to put her braids back in order. The innkeeper winked at her lasciviously. "Have a good night? And day?"

She blushed, but just said firmly, "None ya business, goblin. Or anybody else's. Ya hear me?" She pointed the business end of her staff at the goblin, and was gratified to see him go pale. "Now, I be leaving, but I got a question for ya. You know a hooker named Chayani? Workin' around here maybe?"

She wasn't sure why she was asking. Maybe she wanted to get a look at the type of woman Zaljin involved himself with to see if she needed to get a pox check. If she had another reason, she was trying not to think about it.

The barkeeper wrinkled his nose. "Nope.. Be a weird name for a hooker though, wouldn't it?"

"Why?" asked Meruda.

"Chayani means priestess in Orcish.. or is it Draenish? They sound the same to me."

The goblin never understood why the priestess went so pale and promptly cast the hearthstone spell to teleport out of his inn.

Zaljin woke up about 15 minutes after Meruda had hearthed out of the inn. He rubbed his aching head and looked around the room. He recognized immediately that she had searched his room and found her stuff. The "pig sty" had been carefully arranged in order to hide his real valuables. His trained eyes immediately recognized every difference, telling him Meruda was gone.

He reached up to his neck, and found the necklace still there. He chuckled, before laying back down. He was still content, and now, the rogue had a new game. He wasn't going to wait five years to taste her again. And next time, they were gonna get things settled. No jungle heat or drunken dreams to blame it on. He got up, figuring he'd better put his report in the mailbox before the goblin ship to Ratchet left, when he realized that it too, was missing.

The innkeeper was startled for the second time when Zaljin appeared behind him in a fury. "The priestess. When'd she leave, and where'd she go?"

The goblin hadn't been prepared for an angry troll holding a knife at his throat, and the puddle beneath his feet said so. "I… She left about twenty minutes ago.. and I don't know where she went. She used the hearthstone spell!"

Zaljin resheathed the dagger, and stepped back before the urine got on his boots. The goblin watched the troll interestedly. It wasn't often that Zaljin got bested, and curiosity overcame good sense.

"She steal something of yours?" the goblin asked.

Zaljin looked down at the goblin with glittering eyes. "Yeah mon, my heart." He said sarcastically. "What'd she say when she left?"

The goblin shrugged a shoulder, already planning to pass on the rumor of the priestess stealing from a rogue, because that was too funny. "She asked about some hooker named Chayani, acted weird and bugged out."

Uh oh. Zaljin hadn't been able to remember any of the hookers' names that he normally visited. He wasn't even sure most of them had names, and it'd seemed pretty funny at the time to use a word for priestess in a language she didn't speak.

"What'd ya say?"

"Said it'd be a weird name for a hooker. I mean, who'd call a hooker priestess in Orcish?"

Zaljin grinned suddenly as the humor got to him, and he laughed. Their next meeting was going to be fun. But first he had to rewrite his report and deliver it. After all.. who'd be better to tell him where the priestess was going, than the man who had sent them both after the same book?

He sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Ah need some more paper ."


	3. Chapter 3

Spymaster Algida looked up in surprise as Zaljin walked in. "I thought ya were on vacation, mon." He said.

Zaljin paused. He had been planning to mail his report in and spend a couple weeks sunning himself like a lizard on the Stranglethorn beaches. "Well, I will be shortly. I wanted to ask you a question so I figured I'd bring ya my report in person."

Algida stared at him for a few seconds, before shuffling a few of the papers on his desk, to lift up Zaljin's original report. "Didn't trust the priestess to actually deliver it? She's normally quite reliable, though I don't suppose ya met her before." The spymaster's eyes narrowed. "Though, if ya didn't trust her, the question as to why ya let her deliver ya report seems an interesting one."

Zaljin shrugged a shoulder as he held up another packet of papers. "She had my initial report. This one includes the stuff I found in the guy's apartment. I thought ya'd want the vital information immediately, and she said she was headin' straight here. "

Spymaster Algida considered that and took the packet from Zaljin. "Good thinkin'." He said grudgingly.

"I didn't know ya used the priesthood for operations." Said Zaljin, as he sat down in the one uncomfortable spare chair in the overcrowded office. Algida sighed. It was clear Zaljin wanted something, and it wasn't a job, or he'd have mentioned it straight away. And he wasn't sure Algida would give it to him, hence the conversational gambit. Algida considered information trafficking to be a one-way street. Normally, Algida might take the time to verbally fence with Zaljin until he figured out what he wanted, but people had been dumping reports on his desk all day, and he was running behind

"People talk ta priests more dan dey talk ta thieves. Strange quirk a' nature." Said Algida dryly, as his bright, hard eyes stared at the troll. "What choo want Zaljin?"

Zaljin decided sacrificing his reputation was probably one of the only ways to get Algida to tell him anything, given Algida's refusal to play the game. So he let a blush rise into his cheeks, and said far too casually, "I was wonderin' where the priestess went next. She got fine tits, and I was thinkin' to see if she'd wanna spend my vacation with me."

Algida laughed, a dry little barking sound that was rarely heard. "Ya huntin' big game there, Zaljin. Meruda's got a reputation for bein' frigid as a yeti. Can't find nobody who's ever seen her without two layers of robes and extra socks."

Zaljin mentally blinked. If there was one word he wouldn't have chosen to describe Meruda, it was frigid. For a second he pondered telling Algida where she had an interesting birthmark. But instead he smiled his biggest overconfident smile at Algida, "Den she overdue for a good thawin' out. Where'd ya say she was goin'?"

Algida leaned back in his chair, and considered Zaljin so long that it started to make him uncomfortable. "I didn't. But she went up to da Hinterlands to see a man about a shipment. Ya might see if she needs some help findin' Hank's former goods receiver."

Zaljin sighed, "Ain't cha gonna even pretend to offer to pay me?"

Algida steepled his fingers on the desk. "Information ya want is a pretty generous payment. Azeroth's a big place to hunt if ya don't know where you're going."

"Stingy bastard." Said Zaljin, though without rancor. It was cheaper than expected.

"I'll even throw in a little advice fo' free. I'd really suggest ya stick with ya usual diet of hookers. Ya not used to women with intelligence or spirit. Dey da kind that leave scars. Now get outta my office, I got work to do."

Algida's cold words rankled Zaljin as he slunk all the way through Orgrimmar. Mostly because he knew there was far more truth to that than he was comfortable with. Sneak up behind an ogre to steal his treasure? Sure. Go toe to toe with a yeti three times his size? In a heart beat. Spend time with a woman when everything hadn't been carefully negotiated ahead of time or without an ulterior motive? Not if he could help it.

It wasn't that he minded intelligent women. He just didn't want any entanglements. A rogue needs to be free. You can't disappear with a woman tied around your leg.

He had to admit to himself that Algida almost never gave bad advice. Maybe it'd be better after all not to go chase down after his former friend, hot piece of ass or not. He turned down into one of the darker bars in the caves of Orgrimmar, and ordered a jug of bourbon.

_Maybe I think about this a while. Might be a little more complicated. _ Zaljin was a planner. He could innovate when he had to, spinning complex schemes and plans in a stolen minute if that was all he had. But given enough time, he preferred to plan his approach and his escape. He wasn't the sort to go rushing into things blindly.

He leaned back into a chair, and tipped the jug up on his elbow, taking a long swig. _ First question, be why. Always know what you're trying to get accomplished. What am I hoping to gain by harassin' Meruda?_

That question took several long swigs before he was willing to admit that he wanted to clear up the past. Seeing her again had bothered him. He didn't like things bothering him, and having her lurking out there was a distraction waiting to happen. It was a danger. He wanted to not feel guilty when he saw her. If he was willing to be optimistic, he wouldn't mind having his friend back. He hadn't talked to her in years, but he could remember almost all of the conversations they'd had as children. It occurred to him that he hadn't had a real conversation with anyone since then. He'd interrogated informants, and bantered with hookers, and joked with his classmates, but talked? No. He'd trusted her as he hadn't trusted anyone else with the goofy thoughts and irrational fears and impossible dreams. She knew he hated spiders, and he knew she was terrified of sharks. She'd been impulsive and tender-hearted and willing to help on the crazier schemes he'd had, like trying to build a canoe out of driftwood to go sneak out to the island parties that were only for grownups . Half the trouble they'd gotten into was for trying to help the constant stream of injured or abandoned baby animals she'd adopted. Especially when she'd adopted them out of the witch doctor's personal supplies. He'd gotten half his lock-picking practice on the boxes that held the various frogs, turtles, snakes, rabbits, and roosters, when Meruda decided that one had "pretty eyes" or "really liked her."

Had she really changed that much? Had she gone from being a sucker for every sob story there was to the cold hard bitch Algida seemed to think she was? He didn't think so, deep in his gut, though he couldn't find a logical reason to think so.

He took another swig of bourbon, as the frown on his face deepened. She hadn't been willing to talk to him in Booty Bay. She'd taken what she wanted, and knocked him out so they wouldn't have to talk. He smirked, remembering the way she'd climbed on top of him. According to Algida she wasn't interested in sex. Yet she'd taken his gambit without much hesitation.

He leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him on top of the table. Why had she? He should have been the last troll on earth she'd be willing to fuck. She'd made it clear she hated his guts five years ago.

Maybe she didn't hate him quite so much after all. He was willing to be honest enough in the privacy of his own head to admit that they both had been hurt by the events long ago. But Meruda'd been clear enough that she didn't want to revisit the past by jacking him upside the head.

_So, the trick is gonna be making her talk to me. I'll fake a sincere apology, and then maybe we can work out some of that sexual tension. _ He'd had enough bourbon to admit that the idea of leisurely satiating himself with Meruda held quite a lot of appeal.

He stared up at the ceiling. How to make Meruda talk to him. That was the problem. Especially because he didn't want to make it seem like his primary motivation.

_Can't never give a woman the upper hand, mon. She don't ever give it back._ So he'd have to keep her off-balance, and unsure as to what he really felt or thought. He'd need her to be vulnerable, and in retreat. So find the advantage. Where was her lever?

Zaljin studied the ceiling a few moments longer before the answer came to him, crystal clear.

_Backwards. I'm gonna have to attack this all wrongways._ He smiled. _ This is definitely going to be fun._

Zaljin was getting annoyed. He'd been hanging out in the inn in Revantusk Village for two days, and Meruda had yet to make an appearance. The ogre innkeeper vaguely remembered selling her a pack of supplies, but his description was vague enough to apply to half the women in the village.

His initial plan was to wait for her at the inn, but he was getting impatient. She'd left the village two days ago according to the blacksmith, but the stable master was pretty sure she'd said she was coming back yesterday. She'd only paid for one day housing her raptor.

He was finding it difficult to be patient. The Hinterlands were dangerous. With the Vilebranch trolls, the wildlife that was oversized and cranky, and the alliance posts that were too close for comfort, accidents happened all the time. Delays weren't unusual, he told himself. He could see the cliff road that led down to the village from his perch on the inn roof. The moon was rising, a rich and full hunter's moon.

He stretched. Inactivity didn't suit him, and a wild spirit was stirring in him. He slid a dagger out of its hidden sheath and let it spin on his palm. "Where's death waitin' tonight?" he whispered, as it spun. Eventually, the dagger stopped, the blade pointing up towards the towering temple of Jinth'Alor.

He grinned. He'd go work off some of his impatience slaughtering and terrorizing the Vilebranch trolls. Decision made, he slipped off the roof, and headed up to the cliff road.

Several hours later, he was perched on another roof, watching as the Vilebranch guards ran around below him in panicked circles. It helped that their pet wolves had somehow gotten released from the cages, and were rampaging about in a pack of destruction. The troll he was sitting on made a noise, and got a hard blow to the head.

"I told ya not to interrupt mah show." Zaljin said calmly.

As the worgs ran off into another level of the temple, Zaljin sighed. "Ok. Now ya can answer the questions I ask ya. Every one you don't answer, I'm gonna cut something off. I figure I can ask ya 20 questions you don't answer before ya die of blood loss, so keep that in mind, hey?"

The guard he'd chosen was young, and didn't make it past the first question. "I'll tell ya anything!"

"Dat's good, but I don't t'ink ya be knowin' dat much." Zaljin said. He leaned back again, on the kid, keeping the knife edge where the young troll could consider it.

An hour later Zaljin was running along the top of the temple walls. The young guard had been surprisingly helpful in regards to the magic items being smuggled in from Booty bay. However, he'd also been very helpful in telling him where a particular priestess was locked up in the top level of the temple. In thanks, Zaljin had given him a quick and painless death.

He worked his way up to the top level, where the dungeon had been put into a natural cave. Zaljin swore when he saw it. There was no back way in, no walls that could be conveniently blown out of the way, and the front was guarded by four battle-scarred warriors that looked extremely dangerous. Frontal assault would be suicidal.

About twenty minutes later, a wizened old crone sidled up to the four guards with one of the cauldrons that had been simmering on the campfires. "Dinner."

The guards dug into the pot without comment, though one peered suspiciously at the crone, who shuffled back off towards the fire. "Hey ya old bitch!"

The crone turned in surprise. "Take your damn pot with ya? How many times we got to tell ya?"

The crone scuttled back slowly, muttering, "21 … 22.. 23.."

By the time the crone got to 25, the guards had frozen still in their positions, paralyzed by the potion he'd put in the stew. Zaljin picked up the pot, and stood up to his full height to peer into the eyes of the one who'd called him back. "Yer right. I'd hate ta fergit my pot." And he proceeded to haul off and swing the heavy cast iron into the hapless guard's crotch.

Tears falling were the only reaction from the frozen guard.

Zaljin promptly ran inside the dungeon, slipping into the shadows immediately. He snuck down through the cave, killing a couple more guards on the way. The smells and sounds of the prison were oppressive. The screams of tortured prisoners, the smell of feces and blood, and the dank reek of necromantic magic assaulted his senses. It didn't take him long to find Meruda's cell, and when he did, he almost laughed.

She was sitting comfortably in the cell, in the position of meditation, two dead guards inside with her. A shadowy creature prowled along the bars of her cell, snarling menacingly at the two guards who stood impotently and angrily outside.

"Ya ain't getting' no food! Ya gonna die in there, slow and painful!" The male guard snarled.

Meruda didn't move, still murmuring her prayers in tranquil succession. The other guard shoved her spear at the creature, who promptly bit it in half.

"Come in here, I ain't gonna be the only one." Meruda said, eyes still closed.

"Yambu gonna take ya magic and make ya her slave!" said the male guard. The other one didn't say anything. Primarily because Zaljin had just stabbed her in the heart, his hand crushing her throat.

Meruda opened her eyes, as the creature howled at the smell of blood. "I don' t'ink so."

This time the guard didn't answer either, as the second body dropped to the ground.

Meruda squinted into the darkness. "If ya be friend, ya can open the door. If ya be foe, I'd leave it shut."

Zaljin sauntered forward into the light, to lean casually on the gate, while he wiped his knife off. "Choo tell me lady."

The look on her face was everything he'd had a right to hope it would be. He laughed. "Let me know if you need ta t'ink about it."

"As much as I don't like ya, starvin' and goin' zombie ain't on mah list of things to do." She stood up and walked towards the door. "So open it."

Zaljin casually picked his fingernails with the knife. "Let's talk price first."

Her jaw dropped. And then closed, and clenched, the muscle jumping in her cheek. He ignored the hurt look in her eyes.

"How much ya want?" She asked, in that cool tone of voice he recognized from Booty Bay. He understood why everyone assumed she was a frigid bitch. If he hadn't known how hot she could be, he would have heartily agreed. But he also knew she could be more stubborn than a rock, so he wasn't about to lose his advantage.

He tapped the knife point on his chin. "I dunno. Savin' a life. Dat's a big favor."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "They already took my money. Ya'd have to settle for an I.O.U."

He turned and leaned on the door, and grinned at her slowly. "Who ever said I'd be talkin' 'bout money?"

She was silent for a few seconds, before saying guardedly, "You want a potion for the pox?"

"Nah. I got excellent taste in hookers." That was a low blow, judging by the way she inhaled sharply. _Point for me_, he thought.

"Well, dat's nice for ya. What do ya want?" She snarled.

"Choo." He said, with a grin.

"Me." She'd stepped back into the cell, so that he couldn't see her facial expression.

"Yep."

"Be more specific."

"Ya promise to come on vacation with me. We'll go play in the sand and surf. Eat things that grow in shells. I'm much more fun to ride when I'm awake, Chayani." He waggled his eyebrows at her on the last sentence.

"Bein' a zombie sounds better all the time." The strangled sound of her voice told him how embarrassed she was.

"Your choice. Two days a' torture, followed by an eternity as a mindless slave, or a week of fun on the beach with me."

"How long do I have to think about it?"

"About forty more seconds before the paralytic wears off. After that I'm outta here. I ain't dying while ya dither with ya stubborn pride." He kept his voice matter-of-fact, though he was worried inside that she would stay stubborn. He didn't think he could leave her there, but he also knew he couldn't take all four guards alone. Especially after he'd pissed them off.

He had a point. She sighed. "One week, no sex."

"One week, ya keep yer options open. And we're gonna talk."

"No we're not."

"Twenty seconds."

"I don' want to talk."

"Fifteen."

"The past is best left right there. "

"Eight."

"Fine. Ah promise."

He'd been quietly picking the lock while counting. He knew he couldn't leave her there, no matter what she'd decided, so when she said fine, he promptly opened the door.

She glared at him as she hurried out of the cell. "Bastard."

"Ya knew I was an orphan when ya met me. Never bothered ya before."

"Shaddup."

It took them another two hours to sneak out of the temple, and back into Revantusk Village.

The entire time, she didn't say anything but, "Watch out for da patrol," and "Duck."

When they got back to the inn, Meruda stomped up to the innkeeper. "Ya got any food? I be starvin'."

The large ogre innkeeper started crying. "No. Bad men stole all food! I so hungry!"

Meruda felt despair rising even as her stomach growled audibly. She was far too tired to go out hunting or fishing, or even out to go find the "bad men" who had stolen Lurch's supplies. She glanced over her shoulder at Zaljin who was grinning. The glare she gave him scorched at the edges.

"Nevah mind then. Just get me a hot bath. Gotta wash dis stink off me." She didn't wait for a reply, instead stomping off upstairs to her room.

"Want some help scrubbin' ya back?" offered Zaljin with a lecherous wink.

"If you step a toe in mah room tonight, I'll gut ya."

Zaljin listened, and he could hear the door lock. A few seconds later the sound of windows slamming shut made him laugh. He headed outside, murmuring, "Dis is too easy."

About thirty minutes later, Meruda was finally relaxing in the hot bath. The giant turtle shell had been fitted with gnome gadgets that made the hot water fizz and bubble with purple froth that smelled like steelbloom. She'd emptied and refilled the tub three times, scrubbing hard with soap each time, and now she was ready to just soak, her red hair soaked and plastered down to her head instead of in its usual mohawk and braids.

She closed her eyes as she sunk down into the tub. Her stomach growled, and she sighed. She sniffed the air. She was so hungry she could almost smell fresh fish, roasted with sweet spice. With grilled plantains sugared and caramelized over an open fire. Her eyes snapped open as she realized she wasn't imagining the smells. She sniffed again. The smell was coming through the window. It dragged at her empty stomach.

She slowly got out of the tub, and wrapped a towel around her body. She moved over to the window and opened it a crack. Her window overlooked a small roof section. Sitting at the very end of the roof, out of arm's reach was a platter of food. The steam was still curling from the fish. She looked around suspiciously, but the roof area was small and empty. She peered over the edges. If she crawled out onto the roof to get the food, she couldn't be seen from below. She tucked the towel in more tightly, and slowly crawled out of the window and onto the roof on her hands and knees, uncertain of the weight bearing abilities of the leaf and bamboo structure.

Zaljin was waiting on the roof directly above hers, hidden in the shadows. He let himself down slowly from the roof-edge, the muscles in his arms showing starkly for a few seconds before he landed silently. He politely shut her window behind him, and then sat down to lean against it comfortably. He grinned as he watched her crawl towards the food, the grin turning into a smirk as he watched the way her ass jiggled under the towel. He could almost see her cunt under the edge, and his dick twitched. She picked up the platter with one hand, and very carefully started backing up without turning around.

Meruda paused on her way back to taste one of the plaintains. It practically melted in her mouth, and she made a small noise of pure pleasure. It tasted so good. She couldn't wait until she got back in her room where she was going to sit in the tub and eat the whole plate.

She kept backing up, reaching with her toes for the wall that would tell her she was close to the window. She felt warm three-fingered hands on her naked thighs, sliding up under the towel instead.

"I knew it was a trap." She muttered, angry at herself for not thinking long enough to figure out how dinner just magically happened to get on the roof. "Get ya hands of me."

"Is that a nice way to thank me for makin' ya dinner?" The hands moved to squeeze both cheeks of her ass. "I thought ya were hungry."

She tried to kick him, but wobbled dangerously off-balance. Only his hands kept her from falling off the roof.

"Behave ya self, crazy lady. Ya gonna tip off the roof and break something." He pulled her back hard, so she was sitting in his lap, still hanging on tightly to the platter of food.

"I told ya to leave me alone!" She said, her spine ramrod straight. He leaned forward to rub his tusks on her shoulder, kissing her neck.

"Nah ya didn't."

"I did too!"

"Nah, what you said was not to step foot inside ya room. We ain't in ya room, sweetheart." His long arms wrapped around her waist for security.

Meruda relaxed in spite of herself, when his hands stayed safely wrapped around her waist. She grabbed a piece of fish and putting it in her mouth. "Ya knew what I meant."

Zaljin shifted a little, still holding her against his chest, glad he'd taken the time to jerk off while fishing. Otherwise the warmth of her ass pressed into his crotch, would have made this seriously uncomfortable and distracting. And he intended to stick to the plan.

He didn't answer her, instead choosing to gently rub his large smooth tusks on her shoulders and neck. One of his hands came up to finger comb her wet hair, pulling it down in front of her, so that the wet locks weren't dripping down his chest. If his fingers accidently strayed down the curve of her breast while moving her hair, he seemed unaware of it.

Meruda wasn't paying attention to what he was doing at first, lost in the need to eat, and the delicious taste of the food. But when she was full, and the platter held nothing but a few plantains and scraps of fish, she became more aware of his hands stroking through her hair and down over her breast, and his hard leather-clad thighs on the outside of hers.

She shifted uncomfortably in his lap, shivering when he licked the base of her ear.

"Ya definitely smell better."

"If ya move, I can get back to my bath."

His hands moved to stroke up and down her arms from elbow to shoulders. "Ya."

"So … move."

"Nah."

She pinched his thigh hard enough to leave a bruise.

He jerked underneath her, and growled. "What da hell was dat for?"

She twisted around to glare at him over her shoulder. "I wanna go back to my room. Not fool around with choo."

_Perfect_. He thought.

He suddenly leaned forward so his nose was touching hers. "I went up to that hell hole temple 'cause I knew ya was in there. I went out fishin' and made ya dinner, goin' to the trouble to sneak it up here so that lardass innkeeper wouldn' steal it. I made sure ya didn't fall off the roof while ya ate. Ya the one that came out here wearin' a wet towel. Have I done a damn t'ing to ya to indicate that ya couldn't just ask nice? Maybe pretend that I meant a little more to ya than garbage? Benefit of the doubt? For a change?"

Meruda's jaw dropped in surprise, as he reached up to grab the roof, flipped up onto it, and disappeared in silent footsteps.

She sat there for a few minutes, before the cool night air made her shiver. She turned and headed back into her room.


	4. Chapter 4

Zaljin loped back across the roof, pleased at the results of the night.

_Obligation, and unrighteous indignation. Double whammy._ If he was right about Meruda's tender heart, then she might be crying into her pillow right now. He crouched on one of the struts jutting out from the lashed-together hut, looking down at the villagers celebrating the bleeding he'd given the Vilebranch tribe. The funeral pyres atop Jinth'Alor were so bright that they were providing light to Revantusk Village; the villagers were dancing to the light of their enemies' fires, whooping and screaming so that their joy could be heard over the funeral drums.

He felt restless. The restlessness that came when the target was almost in reach. The urge to hurry and reach the goal. He'd learned to ignore the feeling, learned that a hasty few seconds could destroy months of careful work. He had known not to push with Meruda, known that if he'd tried to seduce her playing on the 'rescue' card, and she'd manage to resist, he would have lost the edge and advantage. He would have moved into the position of rejected supplicant. Not a good place to be with a opponent, especially if said opponent was a woman.

He watched the forest trolls dancing around the central village bonfire, and the restlessness stirred in another direction. He could join them. As the hero of the night, he would find warm and willing company. They were a different tribe of trolls, rather than the jungle tribe from which he hailed, but the dancing and drinking was the same.

_Close enough_, he decided as one particularly well-endowed female undulated and jiggled in front of the fire. Tits were tits.

He clambered down the roof, dropping to the ground heavily. He headed straight for the fire. No sooner had he stepped foot inside the light, than jugs of potent brews were shoved into his hands. Cries of welcome and admiration filled his ears, and he grinned, basking in the appreciation and adulation. He knew it didn't mean anything. The Revantusk trolls would forget him the instant he left, none of them knowing anything more about him than he did them a favor. But he still enjoyed the attention. Enjoyed the momentary pretense of being surrounded by friends. Gratitude was usually the closest he ever got to friendship, and it was usually enough.

If it seemed a little hollow tonight, well, the voodoo juice would take care of that. So he drank deep. He danced around the circle, stomping his feet and clapping his hands in time to the drums. He laughed and told jokes, and flirted with the women. None of them asked his name or volunteered any of theirs. By the time the fires from the temple above started dying down, the dancing had turned into something else. Bodies rubbed and twined against each other to the drumbeats, dancers getting swallowed by the shadows as they moved off to find a final satisfaction.

Zaljin found himself with the buxom green-skin he'd admired in front of the fire at the beginning of the night, as she dragged him away from the firelight and to a tree behind the inn.

He leaned dizzily against the tree, drunk on the booze and the hormones and the excitement in the air. The sounds of sex could be heard coming from all around the village, and he was throbbing. The girl was busily removing his clothes, her hot mouth leaving wet slobbery kisses wherever she found skin. She nibbled his neck and bit him on the shoulder, while her hands undid his belt.

He dropped the mostly-empty jug he'd been holding, and scooped both of her tits out of the top of her dress, fondling the round flesh, while she struggled to push his pants down his thighs. A task made more difficult by the angle of his dick pressing against his pants. Her skin felt different. To a jungle troll, the mountain trolls always felt a little cool and damp, but then she knelt in between his legs.

Her tusks rubbed against his thighs as she slurped down his dick. _ Well practiced_, he thought even as he groaned in appreciation, a hand going to the back of her head, as she sucked on him. Despite her mouth being busy, her hands were still shoving his pants all the way off. He lifted his feet for her when she silently tugged on each one, willing to do whatever she wanted as long as she kept sucking on his cock.

As soon as his pants were off, she stood up, pausing to tug her dress over her head. Her mammoth tits bounced free, but a second later they were pressing on him, as he lifted her up around his waist, letting her slide down onto his dick. She was ready for him, as he easily slid into her pussy. She wrapped her legs around his waist and begin bouncing, screeching happily in high pitched tones that hurt his ears. He took a few steps, and turned, placing her back against the tree. Now that he had leverage, he began fucking her in earnest, pounding out his frustrations with a complete lack of regard for the girl. The tree shook and trembled above them, as their combined weight slammed into it over and over again.

When she came, he still hadn't, a combination of the alcohol and his prior preparations, but he slowed down, both for a chance to breathe, and to consider what way he wanted her. He smiled at her muzzily as she squirmed on his still-hard cock. She leaned forward to whisper, "Ya want to put it in my ass? I like it there too. And you got such a nice dick, mon. 'Shame you ain't twins."

He grinned at her. "Sure." She stood up, when a voice came through the trees. "Mani! Where ya at Mani!"

The girl turned at the voice, and a grin spread on her face. "I over here Jin!" Zaljin sighed as a large overly muscled male troll came towards them, dropping the girl on her ass with alacrity. This was why you couldn't fuck random strangers. They always had a boyfriend. And his knives were over with his pants, wherever the girl had thrown them. So he leaned back against the tree, and tried to look like he'd just been jerking off all by himself.

"I be fuckin' da hero!", said Mani, as she twined her naked body around the large, large Jin with an abandon that suggested he wasn't a stranger to it.

_Here it comes._ thought Zaljin.

"So what else be new, Mani?" asked Jin. He didn't sound like he was about to pound Zaljin to a pulp. He also didn't sound particularly intelligent. Zaljin looked at him and relaxed. Jin's type was easy to see. Big, and dumb. Mani probably led him around by the only brain he could actually think with.

"Got enough of a ride or you got some left for me?" Jin asked, his hand squeezing the girl's ass comfortably.

"I said he could fuck me up da ass, but you know I like both mah holes filled. You can have my coochie, if ya want." Mani nuzzled up against Jin, who started taking his pants off.

"I might need that pox potion after all," muttered Zaljin, though his dick was twitching as Jin lay down, letting Mani climb onto his dick. He needed to blow a load badly, as the night had wound him up to a fever pitch.

He watched, licking his lips as she started riding the other troll. It only took a few strokes before she started chanting loudly, "Zaljin! I wancha in my ass! Fuck me Zaljin! Come on!"

He couldn't think of a reason why not, so he moved up behind her, kneeling in between Jin's hairy legs. He slid his fingers around in the wet juice coming from her vagina, rubbing it around the puffy pink flesh of her asshole. He slid a finger in at first, eliciting a moan from Mani. He could feel the motion of Jin's dick in Mani's pussy against his finger, and he made a low noise in his throat. He felt no resistance as he worked two fingers in, Mani still screeching her pleasure and conquests to the entire village. It was immediately obvious that Mani was used to getting lots of troll dick, as he didn't even feel her ring squeeze his fingers.

It wasn't long before he was sure she was loose enough that he could shove himself into her asshole. He could probably shove his jug in there, she was so loose. He put the head right against the hole, not even needing to use his thumb to push it in. He shoved himself in relatively easily into the well-used orifice, holding still for a few moments so he could feel Jin's dick stroking against his through the thin fleshy wall. He growled deeply, as he reached around to fondle Mani's massive tits before he began fucking her in time to Jin's movements.

A few minutes of this was enough to send Zaljin over the edge. He squeezed her hips, pulling himself as deeply into her as he could shooting his load deep into her bowels, sending Jin into his own grunting orgasm. Mani had been screaming so constantly that he couldn't tell whether or not she was enjoying herself or not, and if he was honest about it, he didn't really care.

He slowly slid out, smirking at the dribble of cum that started to drip out of her stretched open hole, and wiped his dick off on her still-jiggling asscheeks. "Thanks for the ride lady."

He sauntered over, a little wobbly in the knees to grab his pants. Some impulse made him look up at the night sky, and as he did, he noticed that the window closest to overlooking the ménage a trois, belonged to Meruda. He wondered if she'd been watching.

"Mmph. Well, shit." He shrugged a shoulder, delegating that problem for another day, when he wasn't drunk and fuck-happy. He went back into the inn, nude from the waist down, not bothering to put his pants on until he could clean the slut-juice off his dick. The inn was silent, as he climbed the stairs to his room.

Sitting in front of his door was a little vial. He picked it up to read the label, which read clearly, "X-tra Strength Pox BeGone!"

Apparently Meruda was well aware of his escapades. He laughed, and went inside, drinking the potion, just in case.


	5. Chapter 5

That screechy voiced harpy screaming Zaljin's name was echoing through the inn, but she wasn't the only one screaming. Meruda's teeth were grinding with the frustration of trying to sleep. Anyone who thought a troll village on a festival night was a good place to sleep was a moron.

Meruda was willing to admit she was jealous. Not of Zaljin, but of the female troll who'd had no problems making her desires known. Of the easy way she'd casually fuck whatever took her fancy. Meruda's ice-bitch reputation meant that even if she felt inclined to make an advance, any male troll she approached assumed she didn't mean the entendre, and her tentative gestures went unreturned. She'd tried a couple of times.

Once when she was in a bar in Orgrimmar, she'd turned to the cute male troll sitting a table away. She'd drunk quite a lot, but she'd still been so nervous that she'd felt completely sober.

"So, whatcha gonna do tonight?" She'd asked.

"Nothin'! Nothin' I swear, I was gonna go home and ... and pray to da loa spirits!" said the male nervously.

Meruda'd stared at him for a second, disconcerted.

"Look, I wasn't askin' about ya religious duties. I was wonderin' if ya needed some .. um.. friendly counseling?"

The troll had gone pale. "How… how'd ya find out?"

Meruda had blinked, pretty sure this was not the way the conversation was supposed to be going. "The .. uh.. usual way?"

"I wasn't really gonna take his money! I knew it was wrong!"

It'd ended up with the entire bar staring as the male troll started crying and confessing to a draenai trying to bribe him to open the back gate to Orgrimmar. Instead of taking him home, she'd had to take him to the tribunal. The worst part of the whole episode was listening to the buzzing whispers at the bar, and pretending not to.

~_I knew she was here for a reason! She don't go out drinkin' and flirtin'. How'd she know? Mind reader, mon. Spirits tell her things. She ain't all troll, don't feel things the way we do. She voodoon! I was thinkin' she was wantin' to get some. Don't be stupid. She was after dat guy the whole time!~ _

Not the kind of reputation that made men come running. No one liked the thought of someone else being able to read the dirty thoughts in the back of their heads.

The time she'd tried in Stonetalon Peak was even worse. She'd agreed to go help a couple of handsome male trolls named Vula'ka and Malik kill harpies in the Charred Vale. After a successful day of killing the evil beasts, they'd all sat around the inn common room, drinking.

"So .. whatcha gonna do now?" she'd asked.

Malik had winked at her. "I'm gonna get a room at the inn, and see if I can get some company in it."

Her hopes had risen. "Really?"

Vula'ka had sighed. "Ya such a slut Malik. Ya had sex for breakfast AND lunch."

Malik had shrugged. "Killin' puts me in the mood. Ya know dat."

Meruda had taken a big drink. "Gotta say I agree. Somethin' about the adrenaline."

Vula'ka shrugged a shoulder. "Don' listen to Malik. Everyt'ing puts him in da mood. Fighting. Drinking. Eating. Breathing."

Meruda'd been on the verge of issuing an invitation when Malik had suddenly cuddled up to Vula'ka.

"Ya like it. Now ya gonna take me upstairs and gimme ya dick, or ya gonna make me beg?"

Vula'ka had put an arm around Malik, and Meruda had turned almost purple with her blush. She'd stammered something and run upstairs. She'd been able to hear the next part through the cracks in the wood floors.

"I think yon priestess be shocked." said Vula'ka.

"Eh, she's on the prudish side." said Malik. "I thought for a minute she gonna give us a lecture."

"I don' think she knew we were together." said Vula'ka.

"Oh ya she did." said Malik. "Saw her starin' at my ass a couple times. Could tell she was thinkin' I walked swishy."

"If ya say so."

She'd snuck out the window, rather than listen to them go at it in the room next door.

She did feel the same desires and periods of heat that every other troll did. She just thought too much to let go and "ride the vibe". When she felt the heat coming on, she went out to slaughter things in a haze of bloodlust that served as a poor substitute for sexual satiation. When she felt desire she either "handled" it herself or ignored it.

The sense of being separate and different hurt. She'd wanted to join the fun, wanted to shake her hips around the campfire to the appreciative lustful glances of the males, if for no other reason than to feel 'normal' for a while. Instead she'd hid in her room all night, occasionally peeking at the sexual display beneath her window.

That had been disconcerting. Her two sexual experiences consisted of a half-grown troll losing his virginity, and taking advantage of a passive sleeping male. She had been shocked by the force and violence of two adult trolls actively having sex. She still wasn't used to the idea that her former friend, who'd been scrawny and slightly shorter than her as a youngling had turned into an extremely well-built male. She'd envied the relaxed way the girl had assumed possession of Zaljin's body with her mouth. The slurping sounds mixed with Zaljin's groans of pleasure had surprised her. Somehow, she'd never thought of those two orifices getting together. She'd stared at the muscles bulging across Zaljin's shoulder blades as he'd hefted the girl into the air easily. Her mouth had gone dry as the hard thighs had flexed with each thrust. She'd gone red with embarrassment and stopped watching when the tree started shaking. It wasn't a small tree.

_I'm more fun when I'm awake._ She kept hearing those words over and over again, as she'd huddled in bed, trying not to listen to the razor-voiced green-skin screaming out her pleasure into the night.

Her fingers had moved to her crotch, stroking with increasing urgency. Her mind's eye kept playing the scene against the tree over and over again. When she was done, it was with a peculiar feeling of dissatisfaction.

Anger and annoyance filled her, as she catapulted out of bed. She paced up and down the room, angry in turn at the girl, then at Zaljin, then at every troll in the village.

_S'all everyone's interested in. Sex, sex, sex. It ain't necessary. I ain't had much and I'm __**just fine.**_ _I can do without the sex. _ She paused. That was really the problem, wasn't it. She **could** do without it. She had second and third thoughts in those times when most trolls had one, if any at all. When the drums started beating, her blood thrummed to the beat, but her mind remained apart. It thought about whether the beat really caused the spirits to turn the rhythms of the world, and the aesthetic in the primal rituals. The ability to stand apart from the passions that rolled hot in the troll race made her a good priestess. But other priestesses could make their minds be quiet for a time. They could join in the dancing, and the mating. They didn't have any problems.

When she thought about dancing around the fire or going to the island parties, she couldn't concentrate on letting go. She was too worried that someone would take an interest, and she'd say the wrong thing, or worse, say the right things, and still have everything go wrong. She wasn't even sure she was any good at sex, and that would be disastrous.

Priests had to be confident. They had to be able to wield the power of the spirits, be in tune with the forces that ruled existence. That required an iron will and an unassailable ego. It's hard to be confident if you hear people sniggering at you, laughing that you sucked at the one thing all trolls were unilaterally reported to be excellent at. Even the other races came soliciting the trolls for pleasure when they got bored with their own kind. A troll being incompetent at making love was so odd as to be instantly hysterical. It was bad enough people thought she was half-insane because she was "uninterested" in sex. That was better than being a bad lay.

She went and started digging through her packs. Might be a good night for lotus juice. As the girl let out another howl of delight, Meruda glared at the wall. Couldn't he have gone and banged the slut somewhere besides right under her window? He probably did it on purpose to make a point. Whatever it was.

She started mashing roots. Well, she'd show him she'd noticed his little games, and she didn't give a rat's ass.

She made the pox potion extra-strength. The extra strength version sometimes caused diarrhea. If she was lucky, he'd drink the whole damn thing. She snuck out to set it in front of his door, and then slunk back into her room to seek oblivion out of the little bottle of lotus juice.

The next morning, Meruda woke when the first rays of dawn hit her window. Her head felt swollen and stuffed full of cotton wool, the usual aftereffects of the lotus. She stumbled out of bed, going through her morning routine on automatic pilot. She dragged on an old linen robe, belting it enough to keep it on.

_It's not like anyone else is going to be awake at this time of the morning_. _Not after last night._

She headed for her pack, and pulled out the box of java beans. She measured and ground them with some goldthorn bark without having to open her eyes. She was willing to admit she had a minor addiction to the stimulant. At least today it was completely justified, and no matter what her alchemy colleagues said, she felt it was relatively harmless as addictions went.

She tipped the beans and bark into the small collapsible Gnomish Quik-Boil Cauldron, and headed downstairs yawning. She stepped around the piles of sleeping trolls on the main inn floor, pumped some water into the cauldron, and headed back into the inn.

She put the pot on the fire hook, waiting almost five minutes before she realized the fire was out.

"Mother of all loa!"

"Need some help?"

She turned to look blearily over one shoulder. Zaljin was standing there, awake, fully dressed and groomed. Even his tusks looked brushed. Meruda hated him in that moment. It was cheating.

"No."

She kept jabbing at the flint and tinder. For some reason her fingers were clumsy and the pieces were uncooperative.

"I like dat robe." He did too. The fabric was thin and worn in spots, and clearly old enough that it had been intended to fit a younger version of Meruda. It currently clung like a second skin where it didn't gape wide open. He'd also bet breakfast that she didn't realize how short it was when she bent over.

Meruda brushed a chunk of hair out of her face, and turned her head to squint at him. "What?" Zaljin took a step back. He'd seen her pissed. He hadn't actually seen the glint of a real homicidal nature before. He got the definite sense that messing with Meruda before she finished whatever hell brew she was cooking was akin to poking a rhino with a hot poker.

"Ya not a morning person, are ya."

"No. Do ya mind shuttin' up? I can't concentrate with you … you oglin'."

"I'm not .." He paused. "Well you da one being ogle-able."

She skinned her thumb on the flint and swore again. Zaljin sighed, and sauntered over, taking the flint and tinder away. The little fire roared right up.

Meruda glared daggers at him, before she turned and stalked upstairs.

"Ya might want to put some panties on for the flight! It's a long one to Booty Bay, and dem wyverns can be drafty if you ain't wearing no underwear." He called after her.

She paused on the stairs, and he could see the blush rising up the back of her neck. He grinned. The grin froze when a second later she picked up the hem of her robe, and mooned him.

He started laughing. He couldn't help it. She turned to peek over her shoulder at him. A reluctant grin tugged at the corner of her mouth, in response to the good-natured smile on his face, before she purposefully put her nose in the air and stomped off to her room with all the dignity of a queen.

He pulled out a chair at the table nearest the fire, and leaned back, propping both feet up on the table.

About twenty minutes later, Meruda came back downstairs, fully dressed. Possibly even extra fully dressed. If she wasn't wearing a double set of robes, he'd eat his second-best dagger. She headed straight for her cauldron, and dipped out a cup of the blackish brew that smelled "buzzy" to him, before pulling out a seat across the table from him. He wrinkled his nose as she sighed happily.

"Are you sure that stuff is healthy?" He asked. It reminded him a little too much of the stuff the goblins sold in small lead-sealed vials labeled Crimson Tauren. Good if you needed to stay awake for a week. Bad if you got hooked, and decided sleep was optional.

"Ya trained in alchemy?" She asked with a glint in her eye.

"Nah, just poisons and antidotes."

"Then shut ya pie hole. I've been drinking this stuff for years."

He watched her drink it, waiting for the proper moment, and then leaned in to whisper, "Ya know.. no matter how many robes you put on, I can still picture what you look like naked underneath."

She spewed her drink onto the fire, causing green smoke and sparks to shoot up from the fire.

He watched the smoke rise up to the ceiling speculatively. "Real healthy-lookin'. Ya didn't put goldthorn powder in there, did ya?"

"Didn't ya get enough sex last night?" She said, wiping her chin angrily.

He looked at her for a long few moments. He grabbed one of the spare mugs sitting on the table and dipped out some of the cauldron's contents. He took a long sip, still staring at her with that level look.

"What?" she asked, when she couldn't stand that look any more. That odd, speculative look that seemed to be him debating whether or not to say something.

He shook his head.

"What?" she demanded.

He looked up at the ceiling. "This would be better with some sugar. Maybe some milk. Ya know goldthorn powder can strain the heart. Cause a perfectly natural lookin' heart attack if ya use too much." _Or just enough_, he amended mentally.

"What were you not going to say?" she gritted out between her teeth.

He took another sip, twirling the cup in one hand, before he leaned in close to her, his nose an inch away from hers. "I'm a little surprised at havin' to tell ya this, priestess." He growled softly. "But easy sex ain't always satisfying. Easy sex is kind of like eatin' that fluffy cooked corn stuff the goblins make. It'll fill ya up for about twenty minutes, but after that, ya even hungrier for somethin' special. Somethin' _**worth**_ eatin'. Something that you can savor for hours instead of a few minutes of passionless chewin'."

Meruda's eyes widened, and she swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. He didn't take his eyes off hers, neither of them willing to look away first. Then he slowly slid his tusks up and down her smaller ones. She stopped breathing.

She immediately turned and moved towards the cauldron, ostensibly to refill her cup. But he heard her take a deep breath, and smirked. He wiped the smirk off his face before she turned around, instead looking up at her with a mild expression of faint surprise as she turned around, the set line of her shoulders indicating a preparation for battle.

"This stuff is really terrible." He said, "but it's got a nice kick."

She'd opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again. "Yeah. Keeps me from killing people in the morning."

He pondered that. "Seems rather limiting. I like killing people in the morning. Early morning, around 3 am? That's the magic time."

"Killing people I'm not supposed to kill in the morning."

"Ah.. well I can see da value in dat." He looked into his cup again and set it down. "So, ya packed? I already booked the wyvern to run us to the Undercity. Faster to ride the zeppelin down to Grom'gol." He grinned at her. "Ya can take ya panties off on the zeppelin if ya want. Not near as drafty." The tone in his voice oozed lechery. "We can join da Blimp Pimp club."

She'd been ready for him to say something outrageous, and this time, she just lifted an eyebrow. "I've ridden the blimp before."

"Nah, Mer', ya don' understand. The Blimp Pimp club is when you get ridden ON the blimp."

Meruda drained the rest of her cup in one drink, more disturbed by his casual use of the old familiar nickname than the innuendo. "I gotta go pack."

She grabbed the cauldron off the fire using her sleeve to wrap the handle, and practically ran upstairs.

He drained the rest of the cup, stifling a yawn. He'd given up going to bed when he'd gotten the shits for a couple hours. He'd taken a bath, and gotten dressed again while the moon was setting. He wouldn't have put it past Meruda to sneak out in the morning, if he'd slept in. Priest or not, he wasn't going to give her time to figure out a loophole in her promise.

_Harry the prey_. _Never let them get their balance, or have time to think. When you're hunting another being, you have to be three steps ahead, and one breath behind. Ahead so you can anticipate their escape routes and block them off. Behind so you know what they're seeing and feeling. If you don't know your prey, you've failed before you begin._

Zaljin leaned back in his chair again. He wasn't sure what she was feeling or seeing, and that was both exciting, and worrying. He had never been able to fully predict what she would do or say, even when they were as close as two friends could be. He knew that she'd always been considered odd by the other trolls. Every so often, someone would warn him that his friend was a little touched in the head. He knew she wasn't crazy. She just didn't see things the same way that most of her people did. That made her hard to predict. His interactions so far with her had had the same stimulating exhilaration as tight-rope walking blindfolded over a dragon pit. One little mis-step and _fwoosh._ The game would be over, and he was sure he wouldn't get to play again One thing he was certain he knew about her was that she wasn't unfeeling. That implied a lack of sensitivity, whereas Meruda had been overly sensitive as a child. The more he remembered the little things, the more he was sure that the callous bitch was an act. A good one, but an act all the same.

She'd hated the rituals of the voodoo masters, and refused to participate in the sacrifices that were usually part and parcel of troll culture. The voodoo people were a primitive throwback, a cultural icon, if not a source of particular power. The voodoo masters were all a strange lot, usually poor and hermit-like. They often smelled as well, as if being dirty brought them more in tune with their petty flimflam magics. He'd asked her why she hated the village voodoun, and her vehement response had surprised him.

"Because he doesn't know what he's doing. It's not in balance for a big troll to kill a small weak toad. It's just wrong and the spirits don't like it."

He'd thought at the time that she didn't like bloodshed, and was making an excuse. Now, he wasn't so sure. She'd been quick enough to kill those men, and her scars indicated that she'd been the cause of quite a bit of decimation among living creatures.

Meruda had loved animals when she was younger. She always had a collection of pets that followed her around. She'd even managed to kidnap a baby murloc for a week, before the head man found out and nearly had apoplexy. At first the hunters had been watching her, but when the bones were cast for the young ones to be sorted into their classes, the hunter master had shook his head. "She ain't got the right eyes.", was his terse rejection.

The priesthood had been quick to take her though, almost as quick as the Rogues' guild had been to take him. That had been a surprise. The priesthood required discipline, and intelligence, two things most of the village was sure Meruda was lacking, the way she'd go mooning about, lost in her own daydreams, and followed by an ever-changing flock of pets. But no one argued with Mother Dismay when she'd thrown her token.

He frowned. Memory was prodding him. Two days after the incident, he'd gone and begged Mother Dismay to help him get Meruda to listen to him. The old priestess had listened to him plead his case, and then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen well young one, and remember, because what I say ain't gonna make sense for a while. Priests live on the line between light and dark. They gotta choose a side. Light, or dark. Ya hurt her worse than ya know, because she got chosen in those moments of pain, an' now that pain is gonna feed the dark. She's gonna spread it because it's gonna burn through her, and into everything around her. Death and destruction gonna follow her. Until she get strong enough to control that darkness, she can't be ya friend any more. If ya want ya friend back, ya gonna have to wait, and get stronger yourself."

She'd leaned back in her chair then to take another swig off the jug of Juju that was almost always by her side.

"How long until she's strong enough?" he'd asked impatiently. "A couple months?"

He could still hear the racking laugh of the old bitch. "It gonna take years. If she survives that long. The spirits gonna drive her into danger. Force her to hurt and kill things, cause they gonna shove power into her. They gonna force her to get stronger, or kill her." She'd leaned forward again, gripping his shoulder hard. "Ya better get wise, boy. If you want ya friend back, it's gonna hurt. If ya want her back, ya gonna go through da fires of hell ta fix ya mistake, because she's gonna hurt ya bad before it gets better. Don't try before ya ready."

His fifteen year old ears had heard only that the priestess wasn't gonna help him, and that she was warning him off. He'd angrily stormed out. He'd kept trying to get in touch with Meruda on his own, but nothing had worked.

He frowned. He was surprised at the clarity of the memory. He had a good memory, but at the time, he'd barely heard what she said. He wondered whether Old Mother Dismay had done something to his head. If she had, it was because she thought it was important. Messing with people's minds was one of the stronger powers of the priesthood, and one they didn't often use. Rare trepidation started to fill him. He'd thought of this as an exciting game, maybe a chance to fix the past and possibly get some action. He hadn't thought he had anything to lose by playing, since Meruda already hated his guts. If he fucked it up, she'd just continue to hate him. No negative change. But now he started to worry that perhaps there were consequences he wasn't aware of.

"What ya frowning about, mon?" asked Meruda behind him. "Change ya mind?"

His facial expression changed so fast that she wasn't quite sure she'd seen that thoughtful frown.

"Tryin' ta remember if I left my stove on. Ready?"

"It's yer funeral."

He blinked. "Let's hope not. Dyin' ain't on my schedule."


	6. Chapter 6

[Author's Note for this chapter – The lyrics that Zaljin sings on the platform were originally written for The Masochism Tango – by Tom Lehrer. I love you. Yes it's a short chapter. A longer one is in process. ]

"So when's it getting here?"

"The zeppelin just left for Stranglethorn Vale!"

"Ya said dat mon, but ya been sayin' it for the last fifteen minutes."

"The zeppelin just left for Stranglethorn Vale!" said the goblin again, with the careful intonations of someone who had been taught his lines very patiently over a long period of time.

Zaljin peered at the goblin. "Ya get dropped on the head when ya was young?"

The goblin's eyes got huge. "How'd ya know that? Are you a priest? They can read minds and make you walk off cliffs! Don't mash me bro!"

Zaljin paused. He looked down at his leather-clad body. And at the six or so knives that were clearly visible. Some of them even had jagged edges and hooks for cryin' out loud. He looked back over his shoulder at Meruda who was laughing her ass off. In her bright glimmering priestess robes. Holding her staff of office. Looking priestly.

He pinched the bridge of his long nose. "Kid.. Do I look like a priest to you?"

The goblin stared hard at Zaljin for a few minutes. He licked his lips, as he thought furiously. Eventually he hazarded, "Yes?"

"How ya figure dat?"

"Umm… well… you look like you got kind eyes."

Zaljin heard the thump as Meruda hit the ground, laughing so hard she sounded like she was having trouble breathing. The tips of his ears went red. He picked the goblin up by the front of his robes easily with one hand, and snarled. "Look kid. I'm gonna do ya a favor. Be educatin' ya as to who ya pull the retard act on, and who ya don't!"

He shoved the goblin at Meruda's direction. "That's a priest. See the robes? The staff?"

The goblin stared at Meruda. "Really? She doesn't look like a priest at ALL."

Meruda stopped laughing. She glared at the little goblin. "What choo mean I don' look like a priest!"

The goblin shrank back, squealing, "Ya look like a girl! With boobies!"

Zaljin gritted out through clenched teeth. "Priestess, then." He paused. "Definitely with boobies, though."

Meruda's staff whipped out and bonked them both on the head. "Ya leave my boobies out of it."

"Ow!" said Zaljin and the goblin in concert.

"Point bein', said Zaljin, rubbing his head with his free hand., "Dat's a priestess-look. I am not wearin' cloth robes. I'm wearin' leather armor, and carrying LOTS of sharp pointy t'ings that I use on annoying creatures like Alliance scum and idiot goblins." A particularly wicked looking blade appeared in front of the goblin's face. "Get mah point?"

The goblin started dripping. From the pants leg. Zaljin extended the arm holding the goblin as far as he could reach. "What is it with goblins and peein' when something scares ya? Defense mechanism or something?"

The goblin was turning an unbecoming shade of embarrassed puce, as it said in a very tiny voice. "I'unno."

"So when's the zeppelin getting here?"

"The zeppelin has just left for Stranglethorn Vale."

Zaljin shook the goblin.

"Look that's what they tell me! If I can't see the zeppelin coming over the trees, then I'm supposed to say it just left for Stranglethorn Vale! If I can see it over the trees, then I say "The zeppelin for Stranglethorn Vale is arriving!" The goblin started crying.

"Nice job. Now it's leakin' outta both ends." Said Meruda. "And the platform smells like piss."

Zaljin set the goblin down, and wiped his hand off on his pants leg. "Ya didn't have ta bonk me. I already had a headache from talkin' to da goblin."

"Yeah I did. My boobs are not subjects of discussion."

"Subject to discussion, maybe. Or devoted admiration. Did I mention ya still got really fine ti-" Bonk!

"Ow! Thrall's balls, lady, that hurt!" She was surprisingly quick with that staff. And accurate. The spot she'd hit twice now was throbbing.

"If ya head wasn't so hard to beat things into, I wouldn't have to hit ya twice." She said sweetly. " 'sides which, it was YOUR idea to blackmail me into going along on ya vacation instead of one of ya usual floozies. Ya could have taken' that screechy-voiced forest troll or whoever else ya stick ya dick into on an irregular basis."

He glanced at her. She'd been trying to pick a fight ever since they left the Hinterlands, and it was starting to get on his nerves. If she wanted to play games, fine. He'd play.

"I got a masochistic side." He said, with a wicked grin. "Hit me again, I'm startin' ta like it."

She made a face at him. "That's perverted."

He sidled up next to her, and crooned, "Aw c'mon, ain'cha never played priestess and naughty sinner? If ya ask nice, I'll let ya spank me." His hand swatted her on the ass.

Meruda yelped, and swung her staff around again. This time he ducked, and stepped in quickly so that he was standing nose to nose with her.

"Mmmm.. I _like_ it when ya feisty." He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground and started waltzing in fast circles around the small platform, avoiding the puddle where the goblin had dripped, singing, "I ache for the touch of ya lips dear, but much more for the touch of ya whips, dear.."

Meruda tried kicking him in the shins, but he nimbly dodged. She couldn't hit him with her staff because he'd pinned it in under his elbow when he'd grabbed her.

"You can raise welts, like nooooo-body else!" crooned Zaljin as he twirled around the platform.

She dug her nails into his side, the only spot she could reach, and pinched as hard as she could.

"Yeee-ow! Say our love be a flame, not an ember.. Say it's me that you want to dis-mem-ber." He squeezed hard, cutting off the circulation to her fingers.

"Love ta." She gasped. "Knock it off!" She kept trying to cast a spell, but the constant spinning, dipping, and squeezing was making her really dizzy. Perhaps she should've had breakfast instead of chugging most of the batch of Golden Java.

The goblins stared as the trolls danced around. "Troll romance is weird." Said the one with the wet trousers. "All romance is weird" said one of the guards. "Ya ever seen the dead ones go at it? They seem to think everything's detachable and interchangeable. Gross."

"As we dance, to the masochism tango!" sang Zaljin, as he let her go suddenly, and she went staggering over to the side to throw up. He followed her over to the railing, and pulled two braids out of the way.

"I hate ya guts." She muttered.

"Ya gonna quit bein' bitchy?"

"Not a chance."

"Good. Ya more fun when ya cranky."

"The zeppelin is arriving from Stranglethorn Vale!" called out the goblin with the wet pants.

"C'mon priestess, sun, sand, and uncomfortable discussions about feelings await! Female paradise."

"I really hate ya guts."

"If it makes ya happier." He said, before grabbing her hand and dragging her onto the zeppelin. "If ya good, I'll get ya a pet parrot."

She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "I don't need a pet."

He turned and gave her another one of those long looks. This time she just turned away in silence and headed for the vending machine. Something salty and crunchy sounded really good.

The zeppelin pulled away from the tower, and they could hear the goblin shrieking happily, "The zeppelin has just left for Stranglethorn Vale."


	7. Chapter 7

The zeppelin creaked its way over the vast ocean. They both stood at the railing, a careful three foot distance apart. He'd been standing there when she came back up with her box of crispy spider legs. He didn't say anything while she ate, for which she was grateful. She felt ... well, she didn't know how to feel. On one hand, the song had been funny. On the other hand, puking hadn't been. He'd deserved her being a bitch, even if her plan to get him to renege on the deal had backfired. His comment that he thought she was more fun when she was angry was annoying in a strangely relaxing way.

She didn't believe that he had really braved the Vilebranch temple just so he could get an old spat resolved with a former friend. It's not like he'd sought her out in the last five years, so it obviously wasn't a burning concern. And given that Zaljin had no problem going out and getting some whenever he felt like it, she didn't think it was because he had some special reason for wanting her. It's not like her vagina was gold plated, or did special tricks. He was a liar and a dissembler by trade. If he was one of Algida's spies, then he was very good at making people believe whatever he wanted them to believe. So she couldn't believe what he said, even if she wanted to.

She didn't know what he really wanted or thought. And that made her very, very nervous. He'd changed from the boy she'd known, and now he was an eerily familiar stranger.

He'd been quiet as a youngling. She remembered that. He hadn't talked much to anyone except her, and even then, she'd done most of the chattering. They'd met in the same hiding spot. She'd gone to her secret cleft spot in the rocks that you couldn't see if you were over three feet tall, and found him hiding in it. They'd stared at each other. One a skinny troll girl with two thick red braids and skinned knees, and seaweed in her hair. The other a scrawny troll boy with bushy red hair, a black eye, and a beaky nose that was bleeding.

"What are you doing in my secret spot?" She'd asked, hands planted firmly on nonexistent hips.

He'd glared at her, as he wiped at his bloody nose. "What makes it yours?" He'd asked.

She pointed to a spot behind his head. "I wrote my name on it." She had too. She'd written her name, and the name of her pet crab, Crabby, and her three earthworms, Dirt, Dirty, and Mud with a piece of stolen charcoal.

He'd carefully read the malformed letters, and then using the blood on his fingers from his nose, wrote his name on the wall too. "Guess ya have to share then."

That had just made her mad. "I don't want to share!"

He pointed at the other names. "You're already sharing."

"They're my pets, and I _like_ them." She'd pulled the three worms out of her pocket and held them out, and then got Crabby out of the other pocket. "See?"

"Well, how do you know you don't like me?" He'd asked, a little desperately because he could hear Thak hooting down the beach. Thak was supposed to be training with the hunters next year, and rumor was he could already follow tracks. He also liked beating the crap out of Zarjan.

"You're a boy." She'd said, with impeccable logic.

"Well, Crabby's a boy crab. Here, there's plenty of room, just hurry up and get in here before Thak sees you!"

She'd crawled in. "How do you know he's a boy crab?"

"He's got a blue shell. Girl crabs got green shells."

She'd considered Crabby's distinctly azure carapace, as she scooted over to sit next to him. They'd sat quietly in the small cave for a few minutes, before Meruda said, "Well.. I suppose you can share our cave. But you can't tell anyone else about it. It's supposed to be a secret." She glared at him as if he'd offered to go invite the whole village.

"Believe me, I don't want to tell anyone."

She'd considered him a minute. "The villagers think I'm crazy." She offered.

He'd thought about it. "Are you?"

"How should I know? If I'm crazy, then I wouldn't know it, would I?" She wiggled her toes, which were very dirty from playing in the mud down near the murloc camp.

"I think you'd know. And I don't think you're crazy. Just weird." Said Zaljin uncomfortably.

"Why?" she'd asked.

"Pets don't like crazy people, and Crabby seems to like you." He'd never seen a crab curl up in someone's lap before. With worms sitting on its back. "But they like weird people. Hunters are all weird. Maybe you'll be a hunter when you grow up."

"I don't want to be a hunter."

"Why not?"

"Cause hunters tame pets for reasons of their own. Pets should get to choose you out of friendship."

"You're definitely weird."

"So are you. Why are you bleeding?"

"Because."

She'd cocked her head to one side, "Because why?"

He sighed. "Because Thak hit me, because he's a jerk."

She'd leaned against him, comfortably, surprising him. He'd been warm and comforting, and it had been nice to have someone else in the cave to talk to, who could talk back.

"Well, we could put a snake in his bed." She'd said eventually.

"Where would we get a snake?" He said, fascinated by the beautiful idea of vengeance.

"Obuzu always has snakes and toads and things he keeps. Just go take one of his."

"You want me to steal a snake from the Witch Doctor?"

"He's going to kill them anyways. You might as well, because then it will be a good deed!"

He'd stared down at her implacable face, and known that he was going to be stealing a snake from the witch doctor.

"Ok, how are we going to put it in Thak's bed?"

"I'll do it. I have to make the beds in the third years' cabin tonight as my chores. And I'm supposed to be doing it right now, so you can steal the snake while I'm getting my whipping for running away."

They'd executed the plan perfectly. Obuzu hadn't yet put the locks on the cages that he would find necessary in coming years. Thak's girlish screaming could be heard around the whole village, exactly eight minutes after lights out.

They'd met the next day in the cave by unplanned consent.

They'd stared at each other, before Zaljin asked, "D'ya want to help me build a raft?"

Their friendship had continued on in that vein. She told him stories, he listened. She'd cajole him into stealing Obuzu's living supplies for her pets, and he'd talk her into helping him with his various projects. He'd liked building things. They pretended to be great warriors, or pirates, or murlocs. They never seemed to make arrangements, but no matter when one got to the secret spot, the other was usually there waiting. Neither one of them were interested in making friends with the other children their own age. When they'd gotten older, they'd both gotten teased for spending all their time together.

But it hadn't been love, at least not romantic love. Meruda thought. They'd just … understood each other. He'd told her about girls he thought were pretty. She'd told him about her crush on the raptor trainer. They'd shared everything in their heads, thoughts falling out past unguarded lips without hesitation. The idea of kissing or even of romance with each other had never even occurred before that one bad night.

She thought it was strange he ended up working for Algida. Zaljin had been sensitive. He could read her emotions and moods easily, and often could tell precisely what caused them. He'd been willing to help her free the helpless creatures in Obuzu's cages, because he knew that she hated them being trapped. Seeing him now as someone who killed easily and without thought was bizarre. He had been good at planning their adventures. Whenever they played the gnome game where you had to move your pieces around the board and trap the other pieces, he won almost all the time. She would occasionally stumble across a move of brilliance and win. She was good at seeing sudden opportunities, but not so good at planning them ahead of time. Together they'd managed to drive the village half nuts.

She shook her head. Thinking about the past wasn't offering any help with the future. He'd changed, and she had to deal with the person he was now. She looked over the side into the Great Maelstrom that roared beneath them.

"Ya scared the hell outta me, yannow." He said, breaking the silence.

"Me? What'd I do?" She said, startled out of staring at the hypnotically swirling maw below.

"When ya said ya didn't think I wanted ta mate with ya. Back then. I panicked." He was staring out at the water as well.

"Why?" Her shoulders were suddenly tense. She didn't want to talk about this, she really didn't. "I meant I didn't think you saw me that way. Sexually. We don't gotta talk about this!" The last sentence sounded a little hysterical. She took a deep breath.

"Well, you didn't say like I wanted to fuck ya. Ya said mate. Permanent-like. I wasn't ready for that word. It freaked me out. And yeah we do. Might as well do it where ya can't run away."

"I didn't hang out with the other kids, learnin' that kind of language. I hung out with you, and went ta priest classes. Ya didn't have to call me a free whore." It was amazing how much that still hurt. She was annoyed that her voice wobbled just a bit on the last two words.

"I didn't mean it that way. I'd been saving up for a hooker, and what I'd meant to say was that I figured, given the circumstances, it be better to ah.. . be with a friend for the first time. It didn't come out right." He shrugged a shoulder. "I was 15 and stupid. Ya could've given me a chance to apologize."

"It hurt too bad. I couldn't even think about hearin' ya voice." He winced at the pain he could clearly hear in her words. It went into him like a dagger blade, cold and sharp. He glanced at her profile from the corner of one eye. Her hands were clenched on the railing so tightly her knuckles had gone white. Her entire body was stiff with tension.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Ya couldn't'a kicked me any harder than I was kickin' myself. Our friendship meant … it meant a lot ta me. The thought of it changing, or getting ruined scared the hell out of me."

"I went and washed ya name out of the cave. I thought maybe if I did that, it would erase everything, and then it wouldn't hurt anymore." Her voice was shaking with the effort of trying to get words past the giant lump in her throat.

"I know. I went to try and leave a note there too." He'd forgotten that hollow feeling when he'd seen his name washed off the little hiding spot. It rose up now, like it wanted to choke him, and he felt that bleak despair rising up again. He rubbed his face with one hand. He hadn't thought this would be so hard.

"I burned everything ya ever gave me. Even the murloc necklace ya made for my 6th birthday." The words were coming faster now, as were the tears. "I wore that thing for ten years. Never took it off."

He hunched his shoulders. Each word felt like it was flaying him alive, burning under his skin. He remembered making the necklace, and the giant smile she'd given him when he gave it to her. He'd never seen her without it after that. It'd been the first time he'd ever given anyone a present. The amount of hurt she must have felt to destroy something she'd loved so much washed over him, drowning him.

"I kept it all." He said. "It's in a box buried under my bed. Even the pink scarf." He remembered how hard it'd been not to laugh at that particular gift. It was a pink scarf, given in the desert, that she'd carefully made herself. It was one of the ugliest garments he'd ever seen. She'd even embroidered a smiley face on one end. " I couldn't stand ta throw it out. But I don't go home much anymore." The epiphany hit him, as he wondered if that was the reason he never felt at home in his own bed. Whenever he was back in Orgrimmar, he either went out drinking, or wenching. Both excuses not to be conscious in his own room.

"That was a really ugly scarf." She mumbled, swiping at her eyes.

"Took ya hours." He was disconcerted to find his own eyes felt a little wet, and he turned away to surreptitiously wipe them. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I hurt ya, Mer. It was the last thing I ever wanted to do." He said quietly. That realization that he meant every word shook him.

He jumped when he felt her fingers touch his cheek. She'd moved so quietly towards him that he hadn't even noticed. She wiped away one of the tears he'd missed, and looked at the dampness on her finger.

She didn't look up as she swallowed hard, before saying, "I'm sorry too. I should've at least read the note you tied to a kitten."

His ears were bright red. "I really thought that one would work. I went all the way to Orgrimmar to get it. Had to steal one of Lakshmi's raptors. That .. wasn't a good idea. He was not happy."

She wiped at her eyes again, and took a deep shuddering breath. The emotion was so thick in the air as to be painful. Her voice was shaky as she said, "I guess I could go write your name back in the cave.. but I'd have to break your nose to do it."

"Lady, I'd let ya, if it meant ya forgive me."

That was hard. She hadn't realized how much anger she'd built up over the last five years. Right now it festered up, making her want to scream that hell no, she wasn't forgiving him. She was the one that was broken. She was the one that had suffered. He'd been fine to go on and live his life.

But the tear on her finger shook her. He hadn't ever cried as a kid. Even when they both got welts beaten into their backsides for letting all of Obuzu's snakes loose in the village. The only time she'd seen him cry before was when he'd gotten trapped in that giant spider web, and she'd had to leave him to go get help.

"I'll… I'll try." Was all she could manage.

"Lot of hurt built up to forgive, huh."

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Every time someone invited me out to one of the island parties. Every time I tried to flirt, and it failed. Every time I wanted ta be normal, and got all tangled up. It hurt all over again. Gettin' called frigid, and weird, and not all troll…" She shivered, and he winced.

He knew better than to try and touch her. Scabs and scars had been ripped open, and her emotions were raw and bleeding. So were his. The idea of the kind of pain that could come from letting those open wounds touch kept him those few inches away.

So he turned and leaned against the railing. "Do ya think I got off easy?" He asked.

"The green-skin howling beneath my window told me that." She muttered.

He managed not to laugh at the unintentional joke. "Only women I talk to are hookers or sluts. I don't know their names most the time, and none of 'em are interested in mine, unless I pay 'em to be. I ain't had a friend in five years. And do ya know, the worst part might be that I didn't even know that was a problem, 'cause I made myself forget what having a friend felt like." He lifted a shoulder. "I don't know what ya call it, but I'm thinkin' that ain't usual."

He grimaced. "I didn't think it'd hurt this bad, tryin' ta get this straightened out. But when I saw ya again in Booty Bay, it hurt all over again. It made me mad that you were there, bringing everything back out again. So I wanted ta fix it.. or at least settle it, so that seeing ya wouldn't hurt any more."

"Ya figured an insincere apology and a few rolls in the sand would make it all better?"

That was WAY too close to the truth, and he crossed his arms, leaning against the railing. "I didn't realize how deep the holes ya left were. Algida said ya were the type that left scars. He didn't know I already had a set."

"The Zeppelin has arrived at Grom'gol!" yelled an eerily familiar goblin voice.

"And there's da bell. You'll have ta wait for round two, Mer."

She scrubbed her face hard with a sleeve, wiping most of the evidence away. "This vacation sucks so far."


	8. Chapter 8

They didn't speak as they saddled up the raptors and headed down the beach.

The sun sparkled off the teal blue waters, the heat bearing down in sharp contrast to the chill of the Hinterlands. Meruda frowned as her double layers of robes started to get uncomfortably hot. It was twenty minutes before she couldn't take it anymore.

Zaljin was leading in front, and didn't look back as Meruda pulled her raptor to a halt.

"We'll catch up to him, won't we Daisy."

The green raptor made barking noises in assent. Meruda hopped off her raptor, and started pulling off the heavy woolen outer robe, and shoving it into one of her bags. She glanced down the beach. Zaljin and his raptor weren't even in sight any more. She decided to pull off the undershirt and the silk blouse as well. And the extra pair of socks.

She sighed in relief as she could now feel the sea breeze coming through the lighter silk robes. "Dat's much bettah." She shoved the extra pile of clothing into her bags, and saddled back up. She wondered if Zaljin was going to be annoyed when he found himself riding down the beach alone.

Her smile grew wider. She patted Daisy on the neck. "Ok girl. Ya can get goin' now. But not too fast. It's a nice day for a ride."

The raptor tracks Zaljin had left were clearly visible in the damp sand, and Daisy trotted after them. Around a corner, the tracks suddenly turned into a mess of blood and disturbed sand. Zaljin's raptor lay on the sand keening, badly injured. A cutlass still protruded from one scaly leg. Two bodies lay on the sand, one of which was still moving. Barely.

Meruda pulled Daisy up short. She looked at the mess, and frowned, thinking. She dropped off the raptor, and ran over to the still moving human body. She murmured a spell of healing. She felt the power go out more strongly than it usually did.

The young pirate, wearing the Bloodsail colors stirred and opened his eyes staring at the blurry figure bending over him. "Oh than-" was all he got out before Meruda whacked him sharply on the temple, sending him right back into unconsciousness. She was getting to be an expert at jacking people.

It was dark when the young pirate woke up again, this time on an empty beach. He scrambled quickly away from the water, staring around with wide eyes. No crocolisks. That was good. He'd been lucky. He didn't even notice that the dead raptor wasn't still lying in the sand. He didn't even wonder how he'd gotten better. The one thought in his fuzzy brain was to get back to the ship.

Daisy hooted softly as Meruda started to move away from her. Zaljin's raptor was tied to the same tree, his wounds treated and dressed. "Nah Daisy." She whispered. "Mama's got work ta do. Ya gotta watch .. Deathclaw. He still be hurt." Daisy curled her lips in disgust. Meruda understood how she felt. She'd never seen a more mild-tempered raptor than the orange raptor Zaljin rode. She'd had trouble getting it to eat the crocolisk meat, until she cooked it. And put sauce on it. And it kept trying to wander off to sniff flowers. Deathclaw was twice the size of Daisy, and he cowered whenever she looked at him. Daisy on the other hand had nearly taken Meruda's fingers off with the raw meat offered, as if determined to act extra predatory in order to show Deathclaw how a proper raptor behaved.

The young pirate staggered down the beach. Meruda followed him.

The boy led her to a hidden cove, the entrance hidden by a deceptive rock formation that looked impassible until one got up close to one particular rock, and saw that it had been sheared off the back, creating a pathway.

An entire ship had been hidden in the cove. The young pirate stopped dead for a few seconds, before clambering back onto the ship. Meruda found a comfortable spot behind some rocks where she was out of sight, and closed her eyes.

The young man looked around the top deck with a blank stare, mumbling, "1, 2 .. 3.." before heading downstairs.

"Hey Billy! Thought that damn troll's dagger got ye!" One of the older sailors grinned, displaying a lack of teeth.

The young man stopped, and then turned around with a sickly grin. "Nah mon. Just a scratch. Hit my head though."

"Good! Not like ye got hit anywhere important! Now get below, the bilge buckets be full!"

The boy nodded, and headed downstairs.

Anyone watching might have been confused. Billy walked down the ship like he was slightly drunk, looking in every closet and every room, counting. Eventually he worked his way down to the brig. Two guards were taking turns beating on a heavily shackled Zaljin.

"See? Watch! Ya remember that bruise I put there a few hours ago? It's gone!" said one.

The other leaned in close and sniggered. "That's great! We can beat him over and over again!"

"S'what ya get for pissin' off the Bloodsail, troll!" Another vicious backhand landed on Zaljin's jaw.

The other turned to stare at the silent Billy, who'd gone still. "You need something?"

The boy's lips worked for a second, before he said, "Bilge bucket.."

"It's about time! We had to dump it on the troll last time!"

The bucket was sitting near Zaljin's feet. The boy hesitated. "He .. he ain't awake, is he?"

One of the guards laughed, and yanked the troll's head up by the hair.

Zaljin made a growling noise in his throat.

"Wouldn't be any fun hittin' him if he couldn't feel it, would it!"

Billy gave them a sick sort of smile. "No… guess not." He moved forward slowly, watching the troll worriedly. Zaljin looked down at the boy, wondering if he'd taken one too many blows to the head. He knew when he'd killed someone, and the knife that had gotten the human standing in front of him had been poisoned. He went stiff when the boy winked one eye at him.

"Don't do it.." He said in Zandali, the words agony through swollen lips.

"Three top, five middle, four down, three here." The boy said, carefully, as he grabbed the bucket, and moved back.

"Countin' yon buckets Billy? That's a good boy. Now get out of here."

"Don't." Zaljin managed again, before a heavy fist landed in his already broken ribs.

The boy headed upstairs with the bilge bucket, this time neither looking around nor counting. He dumped the bucket over the side, before he fainted. Coincidentally on the side of the ship away from the boarding ramp.

Two of the sailors drifted over to the fallen boy to see if he was dead. The third was unpleasantly surprised by sudden agonizing pain ripping through his body. He turned to see a female troll, power rippling out from her body, as another blast of magic hit him, this time feeling as if his mind was being ripped apart. He ran at her mindlessly, waving his dagger, only to drop dead at her feet, as a single word of power caused his heart to explode.

Meruda smiled, the darkness in her eyes dancing. She called on the shadowy creature that served her, and sent it after the other two sailors. Magic danced along the surface of the ship. Cutlasses swung helplessly at the magic shield surrounding the angry troll, as she cast spell after spell, lips moving constantly.

Some of the pirates died as the shadow creature ripped them into pieces, snarling its demonic joy. Others died as Meruda heaped pain upon agony, until their bodies gave out under the magics rending them apart. None of them died quickly or easily. The lights in the ship went dark as the shadow spirits howled their joy at the feast of Meruda's vengeance. Shadows lengthened and deepened, reaching out into the pools of blood under each falling corpse.

The two guards down in the brig paused in their beatings when the darkness began to filter down to them.

"Someone call lights out early?" One asked. The other shrugged.

"Patrol boat maybe." The thick wood decks had muffled the screams above. But now a body tumbled down the stairs, still screaming. Dark spells were chewing their way into his flesh. The man clawed at the wooden floor in horrible pain, and the two guards made quick signs to ward off the evil eye.

A soft chuckling sound behind them made them turn. Their prisoner was laughing, as best as he could, around broken ribs, and swollen lips.

"What's so funny?" One guard demanded.

"Ya pissed 'er off." The troll wheezed in Common. "Bad idea."

Zaljin's head rocked back as another hard punch landed. "Pissed WHO off?"

"She din' want me ta know if she gave a shit or not." Whispered Zaljin in Common. "She done killed ya whole ship, 'cause ya made 'er have ta let me know she cared enough ta come get me. Oh, she is PISSED."

There was a heavy thump directly overhead. The two guards both looked up, and stared, hypnotized by the growing dark stain above them. It coalesced into a drip, and the blood started hitting the floor between them. The man who had fallen down the stairs was now still and quiet.

The stairs creaked again. All three heads turned, as a figure appeared in the doorway, obscured by the shadows swirling about it. The figure lacked substance, appearing as much a creature of shadow as the ethereal shadowfiend snarling around its ankles.

It looked like a troll, except that instead of the red eyes, they were deep pools of shadow. The two guards looked at each other, and charged the figure.

She smiled as they ran towards her, and then she opened her mouth. The hellish sound that came out was like nothing they had ever heard, and all the two guards could think was to run as far away from that sound and whatever was making it as possible. Even Zaljin flinched back against the chains holding him upright. It echoed in their brains, bouncing around their skulls. They ran until they hit the ship walls, bouncing off and then heading another direction, eyes wide and unseeing with fright.

Meruda pointed the shadowfiend towards one of the guards, with a murmured few words in Zandali. It chased after the man, ripping out bits of flesh that disappeared. The other guard received her direct attention. His screaming echoed throughout the hold for what seemed like hours.

When both guards lay dead, the blood almost covered the entire floor. Meruda slowly floated above it, and drifted over to Zaljin.

Zaljin stared silently at her. Her power radiated, and on the edges of his senses he could feel the dark loa feasting. The entire ship had been sacrificed to the spirits of pain and death, and the figure hovering before him was responsible.

When it spoke, it was Meruda's voice, different in ways he wasn't comfortable defining. But those differences made the hairs on the back of his neck rise up. His instincts were screaming at him.

"Aren't cha gonna ask rogue?" She asked.

He squinted at her through his swollen black eyes, and licked his lips. "How much?"

"A life's a big debt. Yours cost me 15 souls on mine."

"Murderers, brigands, and thieves. Their souls ain't worth much."

"Their sins been repaid in blood. All souls are worth the same, no matter how dirty." The figure crossed her arms, as those unsettling eyes stared into his. He shifted in the chains.

"So name a price."

Her eyes inventoried the bruises covering his body. They were easy to see, considering they'd taken everything off of him. Welts traced their way across his chest. The painful shallow way he breathed indicated the several broken ribs he had on both sides. His nose looked broken, and his lips, eyes, genitals, and cheeks were swollen and bruised. His legs hadn't fared any better.

She still didn't say anything, and the fear that she might leave him there rose. If she'd looked like herself, the thought never would have occurred. But in her shadow form she was so different, so ... disturbing, that the panic started to rise. Was this how she'd get her revenge on him hurting her?

"Well?" He asked.

She looked away for a second at the crumpled body closest to them.

"I'll let ya know." A shadow bolt blasted out from her staff, destroying the manacles that had been holding him upright. He fell down to the floor, with a scream of pain he couldn't suppress, and she stared. His back had been brutally whipped into hamburger. She knew how fast troll flesh normally healed. If the cuts were still inches deep, the muscle usually beneath skin showing, then the initial beating must have gone to the bone. She couldn't see an inch of blue skin still remaining from his shoulder blades to the back of his thighs.

He tried to push himself upright, but she could see the revolt and quivering pain across the muscles that had been so badly damaged. He fell back down to the floor, unable to make a sound as he couldn't pull air in past the throbbing broken ribs.

Meruda tried to call the healing spirits, but she was exhausted. Her power, supplemented by two mana potions had burned itself out in killing the pirates, and the light spirits would not come without power to a place so devoted to their opposites.

She reached into her bag, and pulled out a healing potion. Her very last one. She seemed to be going through them more and more lately. "This ain't gonna help much", she murmured to herself. She pulled the stopper, and poured it over his back. The potion was woefully inadequate compared to the damage inflicted.

The worst of the cuts closed a little more, but the wounds were still ugly. She murmured another levitation spell, gasping as the spell called on power she didn't have, and took its payment in pain. He rose a few feet off the ground.

"C'mon, I hate boats." She pushed him ahead of her by the soles of his feet, the only place they hadn't beaten him.

"Me too. Now." He croaked.

"Shaddup, mon. I'm outta juice, and you couldn't fight off an angry mouse. It's night, and if we make it back to camp, it'll be a gift from the loa."

She tried to ignore the way his blood dripped on the sand. Guilt for dropping him so roughly on top of his previous injuries rose within her. She shivered a little. If she hadn't been so keyed up with the dark power, she might have remembered to be gentler. She found it harder and harder to remember the tenets of mercy that were supposed to temper justice when she was exercising the power the spirits granted her. For a few seconds, she'd actually felt the urge to hurt him while he was chained up… felt the need to get revenge for all the pain he caused her.

That realization scared her. Good shadow priests came through the darkness with better understanding. They were the ones who held mercy and justice most sacred. Bad ones didn't come out at all, as the cruelty and pain they exercised consumed them as the final sacrifice. She'd been closer to the edge than she'd ever been before.

It took two more levitation spells before they made it back to where Meruda had left the raptors. They were lucky, nothing attacking them on the way. Deathclaw howled in greeting. Loudly.

"Shut UP ya stupid beast!" hissed Meruda. Daisy whipped her head around, baring her teeth at Deathclaw, who promptly fell silent, quivering in fear.

Meruda tapped him on the foot. "Think ya could kneel long enough for me to wrap those wounds?"

Zaljin winced. The movement of just air along the wounds on his back had been excruciating. The idea of how badly it was going to hurt when she tried to place bandages on the wounds hurt to even think about. "Maybe."

"Ok. I'm gonna let you down now." She tipped him upright, and removed the levitation spell as slowly as she could.

He wobbled on his feet, and her hands grabbed his upper arms. An involuntary noise of pain left his throat. His skin was cold and clammy beneath her hands, and she could feel him shaking.

"On second thought, I don't think ya can. C'mere … Deathclaw." The large raptor sidled over, circling away from Daisy, who snapped at his tail. Deathclaw whined in fear, dancing from foot to foot. "Sit down, ya wuss. Daisy, stop it."

"Down Deathclaw." Muttered Zaljin.

The large orange raptor promptly dropped to the ground. Meruda moved Zaljin forward a few steps. "Ok, just … sort of drape ya'self over ya raptor. That's a stupid name ya know. Ya shoulda named him Wussy, or Crybaby."

The groan of pain as he landed on the raptor made Deathclaw howl in response. Meruda's head jerked up as the sound echoed into the jungle, looking to see if anything came looking for that sound. When nothing came crashing through the bushes, she sighed.

"Look, I know it hurts, but we in da middle of da jungle, with a tapped out priestess, and a mashed spy. Daisy ain't a match for some of those crocolisks, and I've seen the teeth that dwarf keeps around his camp. So you two **need** ta shut the hell up."

"Then ya need ta knock me out, lady." Zaljin muttered into the orange scales beneath him, grateful for the warmth, yet cursing the motion of every inhaled breath beneath him. "'Cause I can't make no promises."

"Yeah. I know." He had just long enough to be relieved when her staff whacked him in the temple.

She grabbed the water from the pack, and started washing his wounds. Even unconscious he jerked away from the touches. When she was done, most of the blood and filth had been washed down to his lower legs. Deathclaw whimpered the entire time as the smelly cold water sluiced down his sides

"Ya ain't gonna like this." Meruda said reluctantly, before she poured the jug of bourbon she'd found in his packs over the wounds. His entire body stiffened in pain, tendons and veins standing out starkly, before he relaxed back into unconsciousness.

She carefully packed the wounds in wool scraps, trying not to see the depths of the damage. The contrast between the well-muscled back she'd seen from her window and the damaged mess before her couldn't be any worse. Her fingers were getting painful in the cold night air, stiff by the time she'd managed to get some linen strips wrapped loosely around the wool packs, to hold them in place.

She couldn't build a fire. The Alliance roamed these lands as well as the beasts. Both would be attracted by the light, and the smell of blood. She couldn't do anything about the smell but wrap his wounds tightly. She pulled the bedrolls out, along with her extra robe and socks. He'd need her blankets as well as his own.

His breathing was ragged and quick, so she left him alone to let his mind clear from the pain, while she put on all the clothes she could. The night temperature was dropping. She set the bedrolls as close to him as she could, and pulled him down on top of them. The cry of pain when he landed tore at her.

She wrapped him up as tightly as she could in the blankets, exhaustion dragging at every muscle. When they got back to Booty Bay, she was locking her door, and her windows, and sleeping for a week. Screw this vacation shit. She trudged over next to Daisy, and curled up next to the warm raptor.

"Wake me up if anything comes. I'd like to see what eats me." She muttered. Daisy hooted softly.


	9. Chapter 9

Meruda couldn't see anything. She strained to hear the soft sounds of movement, the sounds that had caught her attention. It, whatever it was, was circling around, barely out of sight in the pitch black darkness that pressed in like a shroud. She could barely smell the sour sweet breath of a carnivore in the still air. She could almost see the shadows moving as it passed through them, hinting at the shape that disturbed them. The sounds were deceptive. One second she heard the rustle of fur against bush, the next she heard the hiss of scales against bark. A deep growl came from behind her, the kind that came through a mouth full of sharp teeth.

Meruda whirled around, screaming a spell, but it went off aimlessly into the darkness and disappeared. The silence was empty. Was it gone? She took a step forward, and heard the softest of noises to her left.

She could feel the fear rising. Meruda hated the idea of something darting out from the dark, slick muscles and teeth coming to rip and tear and swallow still living flesh. It reminded her of sharks, and being deep in black waters that would cover over whatever was left behind without a trace. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving nothing behind for a grave or a memory.

Her heart was pounding. No matter how much she told herself she wasn't afraid, she knew she was lying. Meruda turned to the left, and she could see a large shape, closer than before, staring back at her.

_~Priestessss…~ _

Meruda shivered uncontrollably. That voice held power. It was loa. It was evil. She knew that as surely as she had ever known anything.

~_Priestessss .. ~ _ It whispered with the hiss of a snake, and she knew it had scales. She could hear it shifting its coils back and forth, an unmistakable dry raspy sound.

"What do ya want?" She asked in a shaking voice.

The creature slithered forward. She still couldn't see it clearly as it kept moving, twisting and turning upon itself, bits disappearing and reappearing from view. She wasn't sure she wanted to see it clearly. It shook its massive head, and she could hear feathers rustling.

_~ I hunger. I thirst. You cause so much pain. So much death. It builds my desire. My appetite. My will to devour, to destroy. ~ _

Each word seemed to pull power from her. It stripped away her confidence, her strength. It stole away every victory, every success. It amplified every insecurity, every mistake.

_~ I savor your pain, your agony. Your rich gifts are a welcome sacrifice.~_

She could see teeth now, giant fangs in a panther-like mouth. The soft lips curled in hungry anticipation.

_~Your devotion deserves reward.~_

Meruda couldn't move. She whispered. "I do not serve you. I am not evil." She hesitated as uncertainty filled her. The pain-filled screams of the pirates echoed in her ears. "I'm not!" She said again, wincing as she could feel the laughter from the creature.

_~Amusing little mortal. You have served me these five years past. Have you not called for my power? For the power to cause greater suffering? Have I not given you more and more of my magic so that you could feed me the souls of those you slew? I have grown fat upon your rage, priestess. And now you will DENY me?~ _Anger filled its voice.

Horror swamped over her. This was not intended! This was not who she meant to be when she began her training. The monster before her was evil beyond evil, and the smug truth in its words ripped at her.

_~Ungrateful wretch. I will devour you!~_

The monster lunged at her, the jaws growing impossibly wide, as they came to chew her flesh. She had a moment to see its eyes, black and lifeless like a shark's. Meruda screamed into the darkness, but she no longer had a voice. There was nothing left at all.

Meruda woke up in a cold sweat, with Daisy drooling on her shoulder. It took her a few moments to remember where she was, as she stared at the bright green foliage in front of her nose. Meruda sat upright, wincing at the stiffness caused by sleeping on the ground.

She could still hear the loa laughing, still hear the sibilant words clearly. Despite the rising heat, she rubbed her hands against her upper arms to try and chase the chill away. It was hard to think, as the dream's fuzzy claws clouded her mind. She really needed her Gold Java. Yeah. As soon as she got some of her brew, she'd be able to think. Her eyelids felt swollen and heavy, as she looked around for her bags.

Meruda closed her eyes again as she grabbed the goldthorn powder and the java beans. She dumped a skin of water into the kettle. It wasn't until she started looking around for the nonexistent fire that she started to remember where she was and why.

"Ah shit." She scrambled over to the lump of blankets next to Deathclaw. "Hey.. Hey, mon, ya still alive?"

Zaljin didn't answer. Meruda pulled the blankets back, putting a hand lightly on his shoulder. "C'mon, say something, troll." His flesh was hot under her hand. Too hot.

"Hey… Wake up, Zal." She leaned forward anxiously, patting his face gently with the other hand.

Eventually Zaljin's red eyes squinted open, and he swallowed, as he tried to focus on the blue face above his. "… water." He squeaked, through dry lips.

"Hang on, hang on." Meruda stared at the last water skin that she'd dumped in her kettle. "Umm... I've got something." She dug in her bags until she found an old jar of melon juice. "Here... drink this. Get ya whistle wet if nothin' else."

She let him have small sips only, waiting until Zaljin had drunk most of the jar before asking, "How ya feelin'?"

"… 'm in trouble."

"What's wrong? Yeah, ya got a fever, but I should be able to help that, no problem." Meruda started to cast without thinking, and then froze as the evil laughter rang in her ears once more.

~_Take it priestess… all power has a price..~_

. She could feel the power pushing to be used. She shuddered as she shoved the power back to … wherever it came.

" Two ... of ya." Mumbled Zaljin.

"What?" Meruda whirled around to look over her shoulder, before she realized that he meant his vision was blurry. "Yeah, dat's a problem. Ya can barely handle one of me." She quipped, without much humor. She gently pulled him forward so she could peer over his shoulder at the bandages along his back. "Not that much seepage. Ya don't smell too infected."

Zaljin hurt. He hurt a lot. He stared at both Meruda's dancing in and out focus. There was a thought wading through the pain. Zaljin waited until it managed to get to the front of his brain. "Healing?" he asked.

The look on Meruda's face confused him. "Nah. That… that ain't a good idea." Meruda said, turning away so he couldn't see her face.

".. 'huh?" Zaljin asked.

"It just ain't!" The dream was too real. She wasn't even sure it was a dream. "It just ain't." Meruda could still feel the hungry power of the loa, and the idea that her deeds, lauded for their heroism and selflessness, were feeding the dark spirit made her sick inside.

She could feel the power inside, tempting her, wanting to be used. Her resolve hardened. No magic, until she was sure where it was coming from.

She stared into the wild jungle. The drums of the Bloodscalp were echoing over the screams of the raptors and the roar of the tigers.

_~Better dead than your soul feedin' a loa.~ _ Meruda thought grimly.

She hoped she'd still believe that when a tiger ate them both.

She rubbed her face. "I need my Java. And ta go get help. Don't get dead while I'm gone."

"Don' leave.." Zaljin mumbled. "Mer… Don' leave."

"I gotta mon. I can't help ya. It's .. too dangerous."

She helped him lay back down on his stomach, and wrapped him back up in the blankets.

"Hot.."

"I know. But it'll keep the blood smell down. I'll be back in an hour. Don't get eaten. I'll be quick, like that time with the spider web. Remember? I brought ya help, right?"

"Yah… ya came back."

"Yeah I did. Just stay quiet and still. I'll be back this time too."

"Okey." Zaljin closed his eyes, exhausted. Deathclaw curled back around his master, and made a soft whimpering noise.

"Just try and look scary Deathclaw. We'll be back."

Meruda paused. She murmured one of the prayers she had learned as a child for protection. It was one that Mother Dismay had taught her. She didn't feel a surge of power, but she hoped the good spirits would listen anyways. Meruda didn't look back as she quickly saddled Daisy and climbed on. She left her bags behind. Daisy would go faster without the full load.

An hour later, she came back, three soldiers from Grom'gol riding along behind her, including an orc shaman. The shaman had accepted her statement that she was out of magic and unable to heal her friend without question, though the look he'd given her had suggested strongly his opinion of such a foolhardy journey. When they got there, the makeshift camp was still untouched. Meruda wondered if her prayer had helped.

The shaman grimaced when he stepped over to Zaljin. "Dark spirits in this place. Even smells evil. Ain't no wonder the animals avoid it." Meruda slid off Daisy, the fear of evil influence confirmed into a terrifying reality. How could she have been so mistaken? So blind? How could she have gone so far wrong?

Twenty minutes later, Zaljin was sitting up and unwrapping the bandages from his torso, his lower half decent in a pair of makeshift trousers. Meruda was staring at the fire on which her kettle was boiling. She hadn't said two words since the shaman had begun his work. The shaman wrinkled his nose at the bitter aroma of the brew. He leaned in to whisper to Zaljin, "Don't drink that.. I don't think it's healthy."

"Trust me mon, I know." Said Zaljin. His back still ached with the efforts of regrowing muscle and skin, but at least now he could move without screaming. "But don' try to take it away from her. That definitely ain't healthy, I promise ya."

The orc glanced over at the priestess, and shrugged a shoulder. "You trolls drink the weirdest shit. Don't do anything strenuous for a day or two. The ribs are going to be tender."

"Ya don't need ta tell me that mon. They're my ribs." Zaljin held out a hand. "Thanks. I'll pay ya for ya services after I go open a few Bloodsail pockets. And veins."

The shaman nodded, saying "All right." He shrugged his massive shoulders, stretching his arms out in front of him. The mail he wore rattled, and the large axe he carried could be clearly seen for a moment, before he turned and headed back to his mount, his point made.

"Ya sure ya don't want a ride back ta Grom'gol?" Asked one of the troll escorts.

"Nah, mon.. We on vacation, can't ya tell?" said Zaljin, with a glance at Meruda. She was acting real strange, and he was gonna find out why. He was now conscious enough to remember her refusal to heal him. She was a priestess, her vows given to help those who needed it. Even if he'd been her worst enemy, she was bound by her vows to do no harm, even by omission. She should have healed him, not left him. And she wasn't actin' pissed, or standing on her oh-so-careful dignity to try to justify that reckless abandonment.

No, she looked like some of his victims. The ones who hadn't seen him coming until he was on them with blades and fury, and their shocked expressions bore an eerie familiarity to the one Meruda was wearing. Zaljin's eyes narrowed. No, that wasn't quite right.. maybe one who had survived a vicious attack? Yeah. That was it. She reminded him of this young blood elf rogue he'd known who'd been attacked by a bear out in Ashenvale. The bear had mauled the elf within an inch of his life, and afterwards in the inn, the blood elf had had the same expression on his face. Shock, and sudden fear that came with the knowledge that monsters were real. Zaljin was certain that his injuries weren't wholly responsible for that look on Meruda's face, no matter how gratifying it might have been to his ego to think so.

Meruda didn't say anything, not even a thank you or a good bye as the soldiers rode off.

"See a ghost?" Zaljin asked. He wished he had his armor back. He wasn't looking forward to having to go back to the ship to find it. Especially after the spirits had had time to rise.

He blinked as Meruda jerked her head up, and looked around intently.

"… What da hell is wrong wit'cha lady? Ya acting weirder than usual." Zaljin said.

Meruda didn't answer for a moment, staring at him. The lost expression in her eyes hit him hard in the solar plexus. She should be crowing about rescuing him, rubbing it in good and proper. Not looking like that time Obuzu found her hiding place for the snake she'd "rescued" and used it in one of his rituals.

"Mer?" He asked softly. "Da hell is wrong? If it's somethin' I need ta know about.."

She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly to her chest. "I … I just need some java, that's all."

"Kodo shit. The shaman might've bought that garbage, but no matter how addicted ya are ta that stuff, ya still should've healed me. Why didn't ya?"

She didn't look at him, staring in the fire, before her shoulders slumped. "Ya ever .. It's like this. Ya ever go and do somethin' and later you realize that it was a horrible thing ta do, and ya should've known better, and maybe ya did deep down, but ya couldn't face it, because the things ya were doing were the only good things in ya life, the only justification ya had for getting' up in the morning, was that bad things for supposedly good reasons needed ta be done?"

Zaljin stared at her as he tried to untangle that sentence. "Ya wanna try again, with shorter sentences? I'm a spy, not a translator."

Meruda started rocking back and forth, her agitation evident. "I had a bad dream."

"Yeah, I did too. Mine had pirates in clown suits." He joked, trying to lighten her mood.

Not even a hint of a smile as Meruda shook her head. "Nah mon. I mean I had a *bad* dream. A loa came.. told me all the .. all the pain and sufferin' I caused was feedin' it. And it was growin' stronger, and soon it'd be strong enough to eat my soul. I knew it was dark power, but I thought I was handlin' it. And it was a spirit dream, not a normal dream. It was real. I don' know if it was a warning, or letting me know I'd already gone … gone too far." Tears were running down her cheeks.

Zaljin didn't say anything. Dark spirits were dangerous. The most powerful were the one called gods to the troll people. He also remembered the screams of the pirates, and the feeling of the dark energy that was crawling all over the ship. He also knew that the dark priests sometimes fell. Algida had sent him to kill one six weeks ago for raising dead trolls in one of the sacred burial grounds near Silvermoon. Icy realization ran down his spine. Was this why Algida had told him where to find her? Because Algida thought she was dangerous?

"I couldn't heal ya! What if it turned right then? What if instead of healin' ya, it killed ya? It said I was servin' it with my evil, and denying it. It.. it was mad."

The gnomish kettle was singing a dirty dwarf drinking song, but Meruda paid it no attention. Zaljin stood up and moved it off the fire, setting it down on a handy rock. Out of reach of Meruda. He was sure that stuff wouldn't help. A hyperactive AND hysterical female was the absolute worst kind.

"Listen, Mer. I don't know 'bout spirits. But I know you. Ya ain't evil. If ya are, it's a new thing, and that means it ain't had time ta upset all the years ya weren't. Maybe some o' the things ya done were, and maybe some weren't. I do know if ya hadn't come yesterday, I'd a been in a bad place, so ta me, it seems a good t'ing. Maybe what those shit-eatin' pirates got was justice. Maybe it weren't. But ya keyed up all ta hell and back. It's been a rough couple of days, what with the not sleepin', and the flyin', and killin' all humans, so don' make no serious decisions now, huh? Let's eat breakfast, and we'll get back ta vacationing, and talk about that stuff after we got some rest."

Meruda's head had come up halfway through. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Maybe ya right." She admitted eventually, after he'd had time to rebuild the fire, and start cooking one of the raptor eggs they'd picked up on the ride yesterday.

The smell of omelet filled the air, and her stomach growled. His did too a second later.

" O'course I'm right." Said Zaljin, poking at the egg. "I'm always right. Hand me that bag of spices."

The bag of spices hit him lightly in the back of the head a second later. "Always right my ass." Said Meruda.

"Ow! Hey, easy on the head. I t'ink a tusk is still loose."

"Dat's just ya brain rattlin' around in dat big empty space ya call a head."

"Always with da compliments. Look, ya heard the shaman as well as I did. No strenuous activity. So there ain't no use butterin' me up. Ya just gonna have ta ride da knuckle bus for a while." That time he ducked.

"Ride da . .. WHAT?"

He grabbed her staff as it came whistling towards his head. She might have had better aim if she hadn't been laughing so hysterically. He knew it wasn't that funny. But she needed to laugh, and his crude teasing had managed to get through. She laughed until the tears were flowing again, and she got the hiccups. He ate most of the omelet, and "accidentally" kicked over her java. She didn't even notice as she ate her breakfast, occasionally breaking out into the giggles, and muttering, "Knuckle bus`."


	10. Chapter 10

"Welcome ta my castle!" said Zaljin proudly, sweeping an arm around the small, badly built hut that smelt of rotting seaweed and salt. The little island just off the Stranglethorn coast was barely big enough for the few scraggly trees that surrounded the hut. The steps leading up were lopsided, some nails were still poking out in some places, and the frame was off-center.

Meruda looked around twice, before saying, "Built it yaself, didn't ya."

"Yeah! How can ya tell?"

"Looks like da raft that we built. Da one dat sank."

Zaljin gave her a hurt look. "I'll have ya know this place has managed ta survive all kinds-a weather and tidal waves for the last four years." He didn't mention that he'd rebuilt it three times. He was pretty sure it would last this time. He'd added extra pylons.

Meruda prowled around the cabin while he unpacked the bags. They'd agreed on the way over to go find the pirates after the vacation. Neither one was eager to go back to that ship, and he was half-tempted to take her up on her offer of replacing his gear with a loan.

That weird tension twanged between them, the uncomfortable weight of words that needed to be said, despite the fact the words could hurt, mixed in with the underlying tension of sex that might be either really good or utterly disastrous.

Zaljin glared at his food box as he dumped the bags into it. He'd figured on a nice relaxing vacation with some enjoyable, if perhaps a bit sulky, companionship. Not on feeling nervous about how to treat a former friend and lover that might turn out to be a possessed shadow priest he'd have to put down, without losing face in case he was overreacting to some crazy old priestess' warning and Meruda's paranoia. Especially after getting beat mostly to death by those damn pirates.

~Now who's bein' sulky?~ He thought to himself as he listened to Daisy chasing Deathclaw around the hut. ~Ya wanted ta play the game, and someone changed the board is all. Don' mean ya can't win.~ He glanced over his shoulder. Meruda's body language was practically screaming nervous virgin, with her arms wrapped tightly around her body, shoulders hunched, and stiff spine. ~But ya gonna have ta concentrate..~

"Knock it off!" yelled Meruda through the window, as Deathclaw nearly took out one of the few trees on the small island. "This island ain' big enough for you two bein' foolish!" Both raptors looked ashamed, though in Daisy's case it was defiantly, and Deathclaw's was just sheepish. Daisy stalked over to the biggest shady spot under the tree, which had been the cause of contention. Deathclaw tried to crawl under the house. He got to his shoulders, figured his head was in the dark so all of him must be, and went to sleep.

Meruda was glad of the chance to yell at something. She wanted to scream with nervousness. Because here they were. There was the bed. She kept looking at it, wondering if it was clean. It looked clean enough, but who knew how many women he'd brought here? It wasn't a big enough bed for two trolls to sleep in without some very familiar cuddling. Zaljin was healed, so it wasn't like he needed to recover. So there might be … relations. Well, of course there would be, why else would he have brought her here? He'd said as much in the Hinterlands. So there would be … Sex. But she felt distinctly unsexy, rumpled, and very much not in the mood, her annoyance doubling when she wondered if that was reasonable or just her. It'd been a long ride down to Booty Bay to replace his part of the supplies, then they'd had to swim over to the island, and her robes were drying into itchy, salt-encrusted wrinkles. But she wasn't going to take them off, because then he'd think … well, she knew what he'd think. He was a male after all. They all thought that.

She snuck another glance at the bed again. It seemed to represent all sorts of illicit, dirty things. She could almost see the green mountain troll girl screeching and writhing on it. The thought made her want to throw up.

"Hey, Mer.." said Zaljin behind her, and her panic exploded into full-blown hysteria.

"I can't do this. I thought I could, but I can't, it's just too ..." She started saying quickly, before Zaljin interrupted.

"Ya can't put on a hat ta go lounge in the sun?" he asked, holding out one of the big floppy hats favored by beachgoers and farmers, a twin sitting on his own head.

"No, I mean I can't .." She stopped, not sure how to go on without seeming like either the frigid bitch everyone thought she was or a total psycho.

"Well, I got some goblin sun cream somewhere if ya want it, but last time I used it, I turned orange for a week. Your choice though." He shoved one of the hats into her hands, and sauntered out towards the water, whistling, a fishing pole slung over his shoulders. He paused halfway there, and said, "If ya fish, bring ya pole too. Dinner's still swimmin' around."

Her jaw dropped. He could NOT be serious. After, after EVERYTHING, he was just going to go sit out there and fish? And why the hell was he fishing? Was she not interesting to him? And if she wasn't, well, why the hell was she here? One of the third thoughts asked if she was seriously upset that he had decided that scaly things were more interesting than she was, when she'd just been about to tell him that she wasn't interested in him?

Yes. A not-as-small-as-she-would-like part of her would admit to being irritated that he hadn't found her so irresistible as to throw her down and make his demands. Because it was one thing not to want, and quite another not to be wanted. She glared at him, as he took the second biggest shade spot, and tossed his hook into the water, humming a tune absently. He was completely doing it on purpose just to make her furious, and as soon as she figured out what it was, she would let him have it. She DID like fishing, but what kind of jerk would just ASSUME like that?

She grabbed her fishing pole, and stomped out to go sit next to him, with a distinct distance between them.

"Ya sure ya don' want the hat? Ya nose wouldn't look good peelin'." He said companionably when she sat down. In full sunlight.

"Nah, I ain' wearing dat ugly hat." She said, sitting up perfectly straight and with complete and total dignity as she cast her line.

"Ya oughta relax, lady, ya on vacation. Ain'cha never been on vacation before?" He didn't have to look at her to know the answer to his question, as she puffed up a little more. "And who's gonna see ya with the hat or a peelin' nose out here? Sun-stroke ain' near as much fun as people say it is. Jes' go get da hat."

"I might get a bite." He had good points. She was willing to admit it, but she'd be damned if she went back for the stupid hat. Taking orders was not her strong suit. Especially not when she wanted nothing more than to fight with someone who was not being obliging.

Zaljin sighed, before handing her his pole, and getting up. He stretched up as much as he could. Damn muscles were still stiff. It'd be a couple days before everything felt normal after that kind of damage.

"Why am I holdin' ya pole?" She was not looking at the way those linen trousers were barely hanging on his hip bones, and clinging to the thigh muscles below. She was not looking at his washboard stomach muscles, or his calves. She was especially, absolutely, under no circumstances, looking at the bulge in the middle. She was so not looking that she entirely missed the tugging at her bobber.

Zaljin laughed at Meruda's unintended entendre as he loped over to the cabin. "So I can get ya a hat, ya stubborn wench."

He picked up the discarded hat. She did not look at his butt. The bobber danced on the water, more furiously than before, as if angry it was being ignored for surreptitious not-ogling. He set the hat firmly on her head, patted it a couple times, and then squatted down to pick her up, his arms going under her legs and lifting her in one scoop, to move her into the shade.

"What the hell d'ya .. Oh." She turned her head to glare at him, ready to give him a full lecture on female empowerment, and bloody-minded males making decisions and willy-nilly moving people, when he ducked in, and gave her a quick, affectionate *smek* sort of kiss on the nose.

"I like ya nose better when it ain't so high in the air." He said, as he took his pole back. "Ya gonna reel dat fish in or let it suffer all day?"

Meruda blinked, and then jumped as the rod in her hands jerked. "I was workin' on it when ya .. distracted me." She hoped the hat hid the color in her cheeks. Maybe he'd think it was sunburn.

"Ya easily distracted then, lady. S'pose its only fair wit' ya bein' so distractin'. "

He resumed his lounge right next to her in the shade, while Meruda spent several confused minutes trying to figure out what the hell that meant.

"I'm not distractin'. I'm sittin' here fully dressed. Unlike you. Don'cha have some spare clothes or something?" She said eventually, with the forthright tones of someone expecting an argument.

Zaljin inwardly smirked. It was nice to know she'd noticed.

"Lady, ya could wrap ya'self up in a yeti suit, and I'd still be distracted, 'cause ya kind of like keeping a pet cactus. If ya don't watch it, it'll stick ya somewhere tender."

"Nobody wants a pet cactus." She couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult.

"People who like things to be challenging do. Difficult an' fiddly an' rare things are more excitin' than the everyday sort." Said Zaljin, watching his bobber.

"Yeah right."

"I had a pet cactus. Got it down in Gadgetzan. Only one of its kind I've ever seen."

"What happened to it?"

"I had ta go on assignment and the stupid git I got ta watch it for me watered it like it was some kinda swamp plant. Killed it."

"What'd ya do about it?"

"I carved the words "Desert plants don't need water" somewhere near his spine."

"… Really?"

"No. Actually I still have the cactus. Its easier to keep now that it's already dead."

"Ya never thrown anything in ya life away."

"Not anything I liked, if I could help it."

That ended the conversation for a good twenty minutes. In that time they caught two more fish apiece, and she leaned back a bit. Her back was starting to hurt from sitting up so straight. His hand came up and pulled her back against his side.

She tensed up again, but he didn't make any further moves towards her, just leaving his arm curled around her side. Slowly, she relaxed again. It was more comfortable leaning against his shoulder and chest than sitting up straight. This wasn't so bad. She could handle this.

"I think that's enough fish."

She looked over at the pile. "How much does ya raptor eat? We should catch some for them too."

Zaljin looked at the pile. The amount of fish there would feed two trolls and two raptors for the better part of a month. He knew it, and he knew she knew it. He smiled. She didn't want to admit that she was comfortable. But his ribs were starting to hurt a little with Meruda's weight resting against them.

"If we catch all the fish today, what'll we do for fun tomorrow? 'Sides, I'm hungry."


	11. Chapter 11

Zaljin was cooking the fish over an open fire, as the moon silvered the tops of the waves. It was a rare clear night, and the stars crowded each other in the sky. Meruda was hiding in the cabin, pretending to look for something in her pack. He wasn't worried. She'd have to come out eventually.

Deathclaw was whimpering at the smell of the cooked fish, sidling closer and closer to the pile of smoked fish. Daisy had an utterly disgusted look on her face at Deathclaw's behavior, as she slowly chewed on the raw firefin Meruda had given her, crunching the bones loudly in her teeth.

"Knock it off Deathclaw. Ah give ya some when I'm done."

Deathclaw started keening. Loudly. And stomping his feet in the sand.

Meruda poked her head out of the cabin. "Can't ya shut that stupid thing up?"

Zaljin shrugged. "It ain't stupid ta follow ya appetite, Mer."

She disappeared back into the cabin, cheeks red, and Zaljin tossed Deathclaw a snapper on principle. Deathclaw sniffed at it, and whined some more. Zaljin shook his head. "If you want sauce, ya gonna wait until I'm done."

Deathclaw snuffled at the fish, and then reluctantly picked it up and loped over to flop down next to Daisy, who screeched in protest at the invasion of her personal space. Deathclaw ignored Daisy's protest as he gnawed on his fish. Daisy snapped her teeth an inch from his snout, and he flinched, but didn't move.

"That a boy. Just hang in there." Muttered Zaljin. "She probably won't really hurt ya."

Meruda came stomping out of the cabin. "So, where's ya bathtub? "

Zaljin gestured to the ocean. "There ya go."

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me."

"Nah. The gobbos make this special salt-soap. Gets ya clean and makes the salt rinse off when ya get out. It's in the cupboard over the bed."

"In public?" The screech of outrage was eerily reminiscient of Daisy's.

Zaljin arched an eyebrow, and then carefully looked all around the deserted island. "Public?" He asked with incisive irony.

"Well, outside! I don't run around naked outside!"

"Mebbe ya should start." He said with a flat tone that made her stop for a moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She flared at him.

"Lady, you're the one bitchin' cause you feel broken. You feel broken 'cause you can't let go 'a ya insecurities. Mebbe if ya stopped worrying that the second ya took off ya clothes no one would take ya seriously anymore, ya might find them flittin' away." He said in a calm tone, though inside he was waiting for the explosion, with the same twitching tension of the goblin dynamite testers.

Her mouth dropped open, before she retorted angrily, "It's ya fault I'm broken! You da one that made everything awful!"

She took a step back when he jumped up suddenly and moved with blurring speed to stand six inches in front of her. "Choo been blamin' me for five years, lady, and it ain't been doing nothin' but keeping that wound nice an' sore! You gonna keep blaming me for everything gone wrong in ya life? It's easier ta blame me for hurting ya once than ta take responsibility for ya own fears, but blaming me ain't gonna fix what's broken in ya! Ya hurt me too, but I didn't let it eat me up and turn everything ta shit!" _Just some things,_he thought.

He saw the shadows of rage flare up in her eyes, and for a second the tingle of black magic was heavy in the air. He waited for the spell to hit, his hands itching to reach for the dagger tucked in the small of his back, but she was going to have to strike first. A few seconds later, her palm connected with his jaw with a hit that would have done credit to a warrior, and she stormed off back inside the hut, the disappointed spirits fading away.

He went back to the fire, adrenaline making his hands shake ever so slightly. He sat back down and removed the rack of fish that had burnt to a crisp. He exhaled slowly, forcing his heart rate to drop. He wondered if it had been too much, too fast. Maybe he should have waited a little longer, before dropping that one on her. He couldn't apologize for saying it though. If he did, it would ruin the point of saying it, and besides that, it was true. He put another set of fish over the fire to start smoking. If it was too much, she'd be packing right now. She could have used the hearthstone spell, but he was almost sure she wouldn't have left Daisy, who was now asleep. It was too quiet. He was too close now. He couldn't see the three steps ahead, and was feeling his way along like a blind man. It wasn't an encouraging thought, especially as Mother Dismay's dark warnings kept playing in his head.

When the door opened again, an hour later, he held his breath. The longer it had been, the more he had convinced himself she wasn't leaving, though he'd promised he'd allow himself to go look in the cabin at midnight. After all, it only took her about seven minutes to pack. But he still held his breath, because he wasn't sure of anything anymore when it came to her.

She wasn't carrying any bags, and he relaxed. She came walking towards the fire, but skirted around him, scooping up one of the cooked fish before she sat down on the opposite side of the tree from him. He was so relieved, he grabbed one of the fish himself, suddenly ravenous. Peace reigned while they ate.

"I used ta know I could trust you." She said, her voice, hesitant and slow, coming around the tree. "Used ta know that no matter what I told ya, ya wouldn't tell anyone else."

He thought about that for a minute, before responding honestly, "I can't make ya trust me, Mer."

"Ya could promise on the loa with blood, that ya won't tell anyone what I say. I could believe that."

Every ounce of carefully inculcated paranoia and spycraft screamed against such a move. Making a promise on the loa with blood was serious juju. Breaking that kind of promise meant a curse of the spirits. It meant if Algida wanted answers, he couldn't give them without dooming himself. It meant he wouldn't be able to explain himself if the worst came to the worst. But he could hear the raw need in her voice, and before he'd thought about it, the dagger had bitten into his palm.

"Loa, hear the promise of Zaljin. I be swearing ta keep Meruda's secrets, like the friend I used ta be." He opened his palm, and the blood dripped off his hand. The red drops never reached the sand as the spirits accepted his sacrifice.

Silence reigned for the next few minutes. He wondered if she was surprised. He damn sure was. It was a stupid thing to do. But it was done.

"Ah t'ink I'm terrible at … at sex." She said, hesitantly.

He nearly choked trying not to laugh at the idea. When he managed to stop coughing, he said in a slightly strangled tone of voice. "What in da hell makes ya t'ink dat?"

"I don't like bein' naked. And both times it was totally screwed up, so I don't know what normal's supposed ta ..." She broke off suddenly in embarrassment.

"Both times?" He poked his head around the tree, astonishment at the thought that he'd been present at all of her sexual experiences mingling with a little shame. Maybe it was more his fault than he thought. He'd never really thought that Algida's "frigid" comment equated to "nothing."

She was hunched up in a tight little ball, clutching her knees to her chest. "You weren't asleep. Don't pretend you were."

"That's not what .. " He stopped that comment before it derailed the train. "Ya ain't terrible at sex, Mer. Speakin' as a qualified expert."

She shied away from that comment. "I can't relax enough to get comfortable with other people. I get tongue-tied, and stupid, and it always goes wrong whenever I try. I even tried drinking a lot, but that just got me a confession to treason, and a headache."

He frowned a little. He'd heard something about a creepy priest going into a bar and staring a man into a confession, which had been funny at the time, but if that had been Meruda… Having clumsy advances taken for an interrogation would tend to put you off your stroke.

"And then there were the two trolls up at Sun Rock, and I thought maybe, but turns out they were in a relationship with each other, and I didn't even realize."

"Mer.."

"And then there was the time in Arathi when I had this blood elf following me around begging for sex tips at the top o' his scrawny lungs 'cause I was a troll, so obviously I knew some."

"Mer.."

"And I was watching … well never mind that, but I don't know how to do all those things that the green skin was yowlin' about, and if that's expected, well.. I'm going to be disappointing, and then everyone will know."

He snuck around the tree during her last confession, and now promptly picked up the tight little ball of priestess, and plopped it in his lap, leaning against the tree. She struggled at first, squawking in surprise, but he held her tightly until she calmed down.

"Ya done tryin' ta convince me ya ain't any good at sex? Cause I ain't buying it. Ya just ain't practiced is all. Now, the green skin ya keep blatherin' on about, she practices all the time. In fact, she barely worth fuckin' 'cause she so practiced."

"That doesn't make sense. Having more sex should make ya better at it." Muttered Meruda into his shoulder.

"Nothin' good in extremes. Eventually things get all stretched out, and it's the tightness and the friction that makes it good. But I was drunk enough ta think a tree would be a good fuck if it had a convenient squirrel-hole." He wondered if that was a little too much exaggeration for her to believe.

" … Ew."

"Try not ta think about it." He advised, as he started gently massaging her shoulder. The ball in his lap uncurled a little bit, as she shifted to let her legs slide over his, digging her toes in the sand. "But there ain't nothin' wrong with bein' picky about who ya fuck. Just cause trolls gotta reputation for being indiscriminate, don't mean ya gotta have fifty lovers or ya gonna turn into an orc."

"Choo ain't picky." She said, in the tone of someone pointing out a flaw in his argument.

"Excuse me? Ah'm picky as hell."

"No ya ain't. Ya banged that greenskin, and ya always talkin' about ya hookers."

"The greenskin was an aberration, brought on by your naked ass in a skimpy towel and three jars o' venom-slick mixed with bourbon. And a pair o' giant tits. I don't see the hookers but maybe once every six months or so, 'cause Algida's a slave-drivin' bastard, and I'm on assignment most the time. I ain't got time to dick my way through Kalimdor." He said seriously. "Usually it takes somethin' special to get my attention."

"Oh." She said.

Zaljin paused. "Not that you have ta tell people that. Everyone always thinks bein' a spy is all glamour and hot blood elf chicks fallin' in your bed. No one ever figures that it's hard to get a date when ya sneaking out of ya room when it gets dark to go sit on watch for whatever's goin' on until dawn." He was surprised by the harshness in his own voice.

Meruda's fingers trailed up his forearm, absently stroking the muscle underneath. "Ya don't like ya job?"

That caught him for a moment, and he answered before thinking about it. "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But I'm good at it, and someone's gotta do it. I get tired of killin' cultists whose only problem is bein' too stupid to think for themselves, and smugglers who wanted to make an extra buck, because they're too stupid to think they'd get caught." He watched her fingers play on his arm, and the delicate strokes were causing other thoughts to rise to the surface.

"Ya problem is ya can see that most of the things labeled as bad or evil are just really ordinary cases of the stupid." She didn't seem aware of what she was doing, but if he didn't move her shortly, she'd become aware really fast, when something started poking her.

"Could be." He paused. "Ya know what ya problem is?"

She picked her head up, eyes wary. "Didn' ya already tell me?"

"Nah, I mean ya problem NOW lady, is that you really stink. Ya smell. Ya need a bath." He laughed at her outrage and held on as she struggled to punch him.

"I smell? You're the one still covered in fish guts!"

"Maybe we both need a bath." He conceded, before driving forward to his knees, and tossing her over his shoulder, standing up easily. She started kicking, and he slapped her on the ass.

"Ow! Put me down!"

"Behave ya'self. I gotta get the soap."

"I ain't takin' a bath with choo!"

"Yeh ye are. It'll be fun." He carried her into the cabin, grabbed the soap, and loped back out again, still with Meruda draped across his shoulder. He waded into the surf manfully, wincing when the cool water hit his raging erection, though with a little relief. The last thing he wanted was Meruda catching him with a hard-on when he couldn't explain that it came from the way she was stroking his arm. She wouldn't believe that.

He dropped her in the water, and started lathering up the soap.

"It's COLD!" She yelled as she came back up, spluttering.

"It'll warm up in a sec. Don't be a baby. Take ya robes off."

"What? No!" She clutched the sodden robes to her tightly, though the water was rapidly making them useless for preserving modesty.

"Ya can't bathe with ya clothes on Mer," he said logically, "And I ain't sharing a cabin with someone that smells like three day old raptor and dead pirate. In case ya ain't noticed, it ain't that big. So take 'em off, or I'll do it. Again."

"Well don't look!"

"But I like lookin'. Ya got a fine figure. I was just thinking how much I'd like to rub soap all over those fine tits of yours." The thought immediately send blood right back to his cock, cold water be damned.

Her eyes darkened in color, as she looked up at him wordlessly. He looked different in the moonlight, hair darker, the lines of muscle and bone thrown into sharp contrast. She felt her heart start beating faster, in anticipation. He grinned down at her in the moonlight, stretched up to his full height. The water came up to just under her breasts, and was up to his waist. He reached down and a soaking wet pair of linen pants went flying off onto the shore, wrapped tightly around the dagger.

She reached up to a shoulder, and started slowly sliding her robe off. He watched every move intently, the moonlight gilding her skin as she peeled the soaked silk away from her skin, balling it up and throwing it onto the shore. When she untied the breast binding, he made a growling noise in his throat. He couldn't help himself. Strangely the noise brought a tiny twitch of a smile to her face. She reached down, and then the loincloth too went flying onto the shore.

He handed her the soap. "Hold dis a second." If he didn't touch her, he was going to go mad. If he did touch her, he was going to lose control. He compromised by reaching up to undo the braids in her hair with trembling but fast fingers. When all of her red hair was loose, he took the soap back and washed her hair, gently scrubbing her scalp, loosening tangles, while trying not to look too often at her breasts as the waves hid and revealed them by turns.

"Rinse." He said, in a guttural tone. His tongue felt thick in his head, and he didn't trust himself to speak. He nearly lost it when she came back up again, flipping her hair back and reaching up to pull it out of her face, making those luscious breasts rise up out of the water and bounce back.

He had to touch her skin. It seemed imperative, above all other things. He started with her shoulders, moving around behind her to slide soapy hands up and down her spine. His tusks nuzzled her shoulder as his lips found her neck. His hands moved down to her hips, reporting curves that drove almost everything but desire and lust from his mind. He pulled her back against him, growling in her ear. "Ya feel what ya do ta me? Every time I look at ya, I can't help but want ta rip ya clothes off and fuck ya eight ways from Sunday." His hands slid up to play with her breasts, fingers tweaking the nipples. "Especially knowin' what ya keep underneath 'em."

"Ah feel it.." she whispered. When his hands found her breasts, she squirmed against him, a soft hiss escaping her lips. "It feels good."

"Not yet. But it will." He bit her lightly on the shoulder. One hand continued playing with her tits, and the other slid down her side, caressing her hip, and squeezing her ass. The little whimpers and moans through clenched teeth that she kept trying not to let out set small fires in his mind. A finger found her folds and slipped inside, rubbing small circles on the little bit of flesh that was so laden with nerves. The moans and squirming became more pronounced, and he held her tightly to him with the arm across her breasts, as his fingers continued their torment. She could feel his erection sliding between the cheeks of her ass.

"Zaljin!" She managed, in a strangled breath.

"What Mer, ya wanna try and tell me how frigid ya are when I can feel ya burning on mah fingers?" His fingers tweaked an erect nipple again, eliciting a screech of pleasure. "When ya respond whenever I touch ya tits?"

"No, I …" She could feel the beginnings of an orgasm, that wave of dizziness, when his fingers suddenly stopped what they were doing, and disappeared. "Dammit!"

He picked her up, turning her around so that she was facing him, her legs wrapping around his waist. His cock throbbed against her pussy, as he pulled her tight against him.

"What choo want, Mer?" He whispered in a voice ragged with every last shred of self control he could manage.

"I want ya ta fuck me!" She practically screamed as she dug her nails into his shoulder, squeezing him hard with her legs.

"Thank de loa for dat." He murmured, as he drove into her, abandoning his self-control with relief. He howled at the sensation of her heat around his cock, the contrast made sharper by the cool water. She shrieked at the feeling of his dick filling her. He lifted her hips, before pulling her back down on his dick. Over and over again he slammed into her, until he grew frustrated with the need to use both hands to hold her up, and staggered into the shallows.

She was barely conscious of the sand on her back when he laid her down. An orgasm had hit the instant his dick had filled her, and she was still dizzy, when she felt his hands squeezing her tits, as he shifted to kneeling in between her legs before he slid back into her with a deep growl.

She hung on for dear life as he fucked her with all the fury and abandon of an adult male troll, squeezing her breasts roughly, biting her neck and shoulders and breasts with little nips that made the blood rush under her skin. She dug her nails into his back, his shoulders. He snarled with pleasure when she bit his neck, but when she experimentally brushed his chest and nipple with her fingers, his entire body shuddered with pleasure.

She was astonished to realize that she felt that dizzying pleasure rising again, even as his tongue found her nipple again and made her arch off the sand. When she screamed again in orgasm, Zaljin paused to enjoy the feeling of her pussy squeezing and spasming around him.

He grinned down at her as she stared up at him muzzily. "Are ya tired?" She asked.

"Ya 'member what I said 'bout bad sex sometimes makin' ya hungrier for somethin' better?" He said, while surveying her body as if to make a count of spots he missed. "Lady, I've been starvin' for years. I'm just tryin' ta decide what ta eat next."

She blinked up at him, red hair wild and splayed about her, as the surf tugged at the locks and tendrils. "Years?"

"Years. Now turn over."

The sun was starting to rise when he came for the third time, with her ankles over his shoulders, and her nails digging into his thighs. The bites and scratches from hours ago had already repaired themselves, and been replaced with new ones. He'd discovered sensitive spots on the backs of her thighs, and the base of her neck, and that she liked having her hair pulled when he was rough. He liked the way she looked with her red hair wild and tangled around her, if only because he was sure he was the only one who'd ever seen her like that. She had a particular pitch that she screamed at when she came, but he'd lost count of how many times he'd heard it. Half the time he'd been so wild with lust he'd barely noticed.

Dizzy and exhausted, he lifted her legs over to one side, and dropped down beside her. They were both panting for breath, and slicked with sweat, sand, and body fluids. She turned her head to look at him, slowly, as if it was a great effort to do so, and he was pleased to see a dreamy smile of contentment and wonder on her face.

Her eyes travelled down his form, until they saw his thighs, criss-crossed with bloody red nail marks. "Did I do that?"

"Damn sure wasn't the raptors." Muttered Zaljin, sleepily. The stinging in his thighs was far from being anywhere near his top ten list of concerns or feelings at the moment. The ridiculous amount of contentment and euphoria tended to drown such little things out.

"We need another bath." She muttered, as she sat up, wobbling back and forth.

"Lady, I couldn't survive takin' another bath wit' ya. Give me an hour and we'll talk about it."

She laughed, and without thinking about it, murmured a couple of healing spells. As she stood up, he watched the love-bites and bruises from his fingers fade away from her legs and buttocks. He had the vague desire to replace them immediately, though completely lacked the willpower. Most of his own aches and pains vanished as the healing spell worked, leaving only the exhaustion and bliss behind.

She staggered out of the cabin, still completely naked, and made her way down to the sandbar where they'd started bathing to go find the soap.

He dragged himself upright, grabbing a pipe and the smokeleaf that the gnomes grew, to go sit on the front steps to watch.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I could not believe how difficult this chapter was to write. This isn't the finale either. **

"Your turn." Meruda tossed the soap to where Zaljin was sitting, having scrubbed all the sand, blood, fluids, and salt off her body, and was gathering the pile of clothes that had gotten abandoned on the beach. She was wearing that old linen robe of hers, the one that was too tight, too short, and too worn to be anything but exciting. She'd re-braided her hair, this time in two long pigtail braids, rather than her usual Mohawk and braids.

He caught the soap in one hand, even as he blew a smoke ring into the air, from the pipe. "I _like_ dat robe."

"It's a good thing. The only other clean one I got is heavy wool."

"Ya don't have ta wear one on my account." He said cheerfully.

She picked up his pants, and unrolled them. When she found the dagger, she just turned and looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Fish knife." He said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. She paused for a few moments before nodding, and walking back to the cabin, with arms full of the clothing.

"Go take a bath ya layabout." She said, as she sidled past him. He slid a hand up her thigh as she moved past.

"Layabout? I'm _supposed_ ta be restin' today, ya harpy. De shaman said so." The pitiful tone in his voice made her turn around, so she could see his mournful put-upon expression. "Yet, I been exertin' myself on ya behalf, and ya call me names."

"Dat face didn' work when ya were tryin' ta talk me into stealin' Mother Dismay's voodoo juice, and it ain't workin' now." She picked up her staff with a glint in her eye.

"I'm goin', I'm going!" Zaljin scrambled off the steps with an alacrity that belied his own stated infirmities, and loped off towards the ocean. He actually took time to swim in the water which had warmed under the bright sunlight. He could feel the muscles in his back protesting strongly about last night, so soon after the damage the Bloodsails had inflicted. He altered his stroke to punish the side that hurt the most, and swam once around the island. Then he turned over and swam the opposite way around to work the other side. By the time he staggered out of the surf, he was exhausted, but could feel that warm glow of post-exercise adrenaline starting to course through his veins.

He could see Meruda lounging on a blanket under the shade tree, and headed that way. When he got closer, he could see she was asleep, and that she'd left a plate of fruit and fish next to her on the empty half of the blanket. An empty plate on her side indicated she'd already eaten.

"Good plan." He muttered. He fell asleep seconds after the last bite was swallowed.

When he woke up again, the sun was past the midpoint. Meruda was sitting up, leaning comfortably against the tree trunk, with a book in her hand. He yawned and sat up, stretching sore muscles until they creaked. He took a moment to appreciate she was still wearing that linen robe.

A strange flapping noise made him look up, and he could see a make-shift clothesline tied from the tree to the hut, with their clothes from yesterday dancing in the breeze. He stared at her suspiciously. "Ya cooked, ya washed mah clothes. What'cha done with the real Meruda."

He didn't expect her to blush, but her cheeks and the tips of her ears went purple. Her tone of voice was perfectly normal as she said, "Ya can do it the rest of the week if ya gonna raise totems about it."

He backpedalled quickly. "Well, I did cook all da fish."

"Dat reminds me, ya raptor is a pig."

"Yeah, I know. "

"Nah ya don't."

He peered at her, as she remained firmly staring at her book. He glanced at her shoulders and noticed the tenseness there. He could see her pulse jumping in her throat. She was a lot more nervous than she was letting on.

"Whatcha talkin' about?"

"Ya see ya racks of fish anywhere?"

He looked over to where he'd left them. The racks were empty. The profanity that came out of his mouth made both Meruda's eyebrow's go up.

"Ya see yon fat-ass raptor rollin' around in pain cause he ate too damn much?" But he was already up and moving over to look at Deathclaw, whose orange scaly belly was severely distended. Daisy was standing over the orange raptor, and keening softly.

Zaljin whipped around to bark at her, "Ya have any .."

"Steelbloom and oil o' eel? Already dosed him with it. I'd back up if I were.."

Deathclaw promptly and violently threw up all over Zaljin. Twice. And then he hooted softly, and got to his feet, obviously feeling better. Zaljin proceeded to curse the raptor up one side and down the other, though Meruda noticed that he was scratching the raptor's neck while he was yelling at him, and checking his ribs to see if the vomiting had damaged anything.

After he'd reassured himself that Deathclaw was ok, Zaljin stalked back to where he'd left the soap. "And this day started off so good." He said, mournfully, before heading back into the shallows.

"Gotta be balance," said Meruda. Seeing him getting covered in raptor vomit seemed to have cheered her up immensely.

He grinned at her, before saying, "In that case, this day can only get worse." After he was clean again, he stalked out of the water, and yanked his pants off the line, stepping into them. "Thanks for dosing Deathclaw. He's a bit of a baby and a moron, but he's loyal."

"Iffen ya say so." She paused, and then said ultra-casually, "I'm sorry I couldn't just heal him."

He managed to keep walking towards her without a pause, as he moved to sit on the blanket.

"Ya still worried about the loa dream?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah. I know it was truth. The spirit, it looked like the statues outside Zul'Aman." She showed him the picture in her book, a charcoal sketch of what the Amani trolls called their god. Her lower lip trembled, and he realized she'd hadn't been nervous of him or what they'd done, but of her own thoughts.

"An' … An' what I did ta those pirates. It was anger and vengeance. I was mad, 'cause I couldn't leave ya to them, no matter how upset I was with ya. And I wanted ta hurt someone. I coulda killed 'em faster. Been more merciful. But I wanted them ta suffer." Her voice was shaking. It was hard for him to keep his face calm, when the horror she was feeling was building inside him.

She took a deep breath, before continuing, "I... I ... wanted ta hurt ya too. While ya were hanging there. For a second, I thought I might, cause the spirits were whisperin' ta me of old pains, and digging at that festerin' wound, and it was so close."

He hadn't imagined that look in her eyes then. That split-second. She looked at up him, and he was disturbed by the misery and the self-loathing in her eyes. He chose his next words very carefully.

"Mer, the important thing … the really important thing, is that ya didn't." He started.

She waved his words away impatiently. "I could have! I was too close! There can't be a next time. And I don' know what I'm gonna do." Her voice broke, and tears started dribbling down her face. "I'm too used to magic. Somethin' attacks me, and I'm gonna lash out. I said I wasn't gonna do any more magic, and yet this mornin' I cast healin' spells without thinking about it."

"Exactly. The healin' spells ya cast this morning while ya were happy and content. I didn't feel no dark spirits prowlin' around, afterwards, did choo?"

"That's not the point." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"How do ya know?" The urgency in his voice got her attention, and she opened and then shut her mouth again, as he continued. "The spells ya cast on the pirates, ya were angry and hurting. Ya said ya been angry and hurtin' for a long time. Maybe that's what calls the dark spirits to ya, not ya magic."

He paused, and then said, slowly, "Mother Dismay said, she said I hurt ya worse than I knew. Said priests had ta choose between dark or light, and ya got chosen while ya were mad and hurtin'. Maybe its ya emotions and ya reasons for castin' spells that make ya good or bad. I mean, if I go around killin' people because I'm doing a job, then that's one thing. But if I decide proactively to go killin' people before they do something bad, then that's another. People still dead, but the reason for it is what makes the difference."

She frowned, thinking hard. The silence stretched between them, as the waves lapped at the shore.

"Maybe." A bleak look stole onto her face. "But I'm always angry. It seems some days I get so frustrated and mad, that I gotta kill somethin' or I'm gonna explode."

"Ya angry now?"

"No. Maybe a little."

He sighed, and said, "'cause I just told you that Mother Dismay said it was my fault after all?"

"Yes." She wasn't looking at him, and he could hear the confusion and the sense of betrayal in her voice.

"Mother Dismay also told me I couldn't do anything about it, until we were both strong enough. Said getting it sorted out would hurt like hell, and that if you weren't strong enough or if I wasn't, it'd break both of us. Maybe she meant that if we'd met too soon, ya might have chosen different, and then ya couldn't ever get back. Or maybe that I'd decide you'd gone crazy and k- … and run like hell, makin' it worse." He lifted a shoulder. "At the time, I thought she was being a mean old bitch, because she wouldn't make you talk to me, which is what I'd asked her for. I didn't understand at the time half of what she said."

He paused and grumbled, "I think she messed with me head, so I'd remember it. I wasn't listenin' at the time near as close as I should've been to remember it as clearly as I do."

"She could've. She's one of the most powerful mind-manipulators I ever met. I asked her once why she only taught out in the village, because she could've been really powerful, done lotsa great things. And she had cackled and said it was because she could have been really powerful, and done lotsa great things. I thought she was crazy." Murmured Meruda, absently, her thoughts elsewhere.

"She was crazy. But then so are choo. Must be a priest thing."

She snuggled up next to him the way she'd done as a child. "Ya said I wasn't crazy, just weird."

"Further evidence is cause to reconsider mah statement." He put an arm around her the way he had back then too.

"I can't do magic anymore." She said it gingerly, as if trying to see what it would feel like.

"Who says?"

"Ya just said my anger made my magic call evil spirits." She glared at him.

"So ya don't do magic when ya angry. Figure out other ways ta deal with ya emotions. Maybe stick to tha good spells. Bein' passionate ain't a bad thing. Being passionate and out-of-control ain't good for anybody. If I'm inna bad mood, I don' go out on jobs. If ya head ain't right, ya gonna get splatted. Ya just gotta learn ta get ya head right first."

"I was happy this mornin'." She said. "It was one of the first times I didn't wake up mad."

"Well, technically ya didn't wake up, 'cause we didn't go ta sleep." A small fist landed hard in his ribs. "Ow!"

"Ya know what I meant." She said.

"Yep. Obviously, the solution is ta have lots and lots of sex until ya get the cranky screwed outta ya."

She scowled up at him. "That ain't a long-term solution."

"Lady, in the long run, nothin' is." He grinned down at her. "Best plan is ta take life day by day. What's the point of worryin' about the future if ya get eaten by a dragon tomorrow? 'Sides which, I heard ya do a lotta screamin' last night, but no complainin'."

This time the blush went all the way down to her chest. Zaljin laughed.

"Ya weren't complainin' either." She said, though uneasily.

"What was there ta complain about? Ya damn fun ta fuck."

"Really?" The worried tone in her voice made him blink.

"Lady, gettin' ya rocks off be one thing. Comin' back for seconds and thirds means a troll be enjoying himself. Ya drove me half-wild with those sexy little noises ya make, and seein' ya tits bounce, and ya ass jiggle took care of the other half."

"Ya weren't just bein' …. Nice?"

He stared at her for a second or two in disbelief. "Nice?

"Cause you were my friend, and felt guilty, or .. or sorry for me.." She whispered. "And wanted to try and make me feel better? Ya good at acting, so …" She stopped entirely at the expression on his face, suddenly aware that somehow, she'd crossed a line.

"Sweetheart, if I was gonna give ya a pity fuck, I woulda done it after my back was better." He was surprised how angry he was. What did she think he was, a man-whore or some kind of machine? Incapable of normal feelings of lust or desire? He reached over and pulled her roughly onto his lap, forcing her to straddle his lap, as he pinned her arms behind her back, by yanking the back of her robe down just far enough she couldn't shrug out of it, and tying the sleeves in a hard knot.

"What are ya doing?" She said, startled by his sudden violence and anger. But not so startled that she wasn't aware of his hardness pressing against her. She tried to stand, but her legs were folded the wrong way. Without the use of her hands to balance herself, she was stuck.

"Shut up." His hands had untied her breast binding in a twinkling, and now he balled it up and shoved it in her mouth. "Ya need educatin' before some more stupid shit comes outta ya mouth."

He scooped both of her breasts out of the robe, squeezing them hard enough to make her make a noise in protest. "What ya don't seem ta be understanding, is that I **wanted** ta fuck ya despite ya bein' my best friend. When I saw ya lyin' there all sweaty and naked except for those little scraps a' cloth ya call underwear, my dick got hard as a rock. I mighta made it back out the window **because** ya were my friend, if ya hadn't been moanin with da jungle heat, hadn't been beggin' for it."

She squirmed on his lap, whimpering around the gag as he pinched both nipples hard, turning them into swollen peaks. He yanked both of her braids back, pulling her head back hard so he could bite that sensitive part where the neck met the shoulder. She shuddered in response, a moan barely audible around the gag.

"Pay attention." He ordered. "Then in Booty Bay, I stripped ya naked 'cause I wanted ta make ya angry, but that was a bad idea. All I could think about was screwin' ya until the damn gobbo bed broke. It damn near killed me tryin' ta pretend ta be asleep, especially when ya started talkin' dirty."

She turned deep purple, and he smirked at her, eyes glittering. "Remember that? I damn sure do. I remember every filthy word." He shoved his pants down, the motion of his hips causing her eyes to glaze over as his cock sprang free. "If ya ever get tired of bein' a priestess, ya could make a great livin' as a hooker with dat mouth of yours, but it'd be a cryin' shame ta waste dat tight little cunt on an orc."

She should have been angry and revolted by his crudity, his high-handed insults. Instead she found herself incredibly turned on. Her nipples could have carved glass, and she could feel herself growing damp and hot. He could too, as he growled, his fingers digging her hips.

He pulled on her braids with one hand until she rose up on her knees, arching forward. He yanked her loincloth over to one side, before he let go of her hair, and pulled her down onto his dick, hard. She squealed, and he groaned, deep in his throat.

"Pity don't make ya hurt with wanting." He ducked his head to leave a red mark on her left breast. "Guilt don't make ya think about ruttin'." His voice was harsh and ragged as he lifted her hips and then pulled her back down, lifting his hips to thrust hard into her. "And if ya can't tell the difference between some limp-dick pity fuck," he sped up the pace, whimpers and moans coming faster from behind the ball of fabric, "and someone gone jungle-wild with wantin' ya, then ya shouldn' be fuckin' in the first place!"

When he heard the peculiar pitch of her orgasmic cry from behind the gag, he grabbed her chin, tilting it so he could look into her eyes. She immediately squeezed them shut.

"Open 'em!" He snapped. Her orange eyes opened immediately, in surprise.

Something in his eyes caught her attention, and she stared, unable to look away, in surprise and fascination. She could see the glaze of anger, his desire to punish, and lust. But it was the cold splinter of hurt that made her unable to look away, that gave his eyes a focus through the passion and sensation. She was too familiar with both the emotions and him, not to get stabbed by it.

The moment of clarity was so startling that it cut through the dizzy haze of pleasure. His job required him to hide, to have a public face and multiple personas, none of which could be close to who he really was. He'd allowed himself the rare luxury of being himself, in the company of someone who had known him, and she'd allowed her insecurities to question it. To question his sincerity and in an odd way, his integrity.

He reached up and ripped the ball of fabric out of her mouth, as he pulled her close enough that they were pressed nose to nose, her breasts mashing against his chest. "Any more stupid questions?" he snarled, something in the look in her eyes making him edgy.

She shifted forward, and kissed him in silent apology. "Probably. Ya awful fun ta fuck when ya mad." It would have been a better line if her voice hadn't shook.

He squinted at her suspiciously, not saying anything for a moment, even as his hands caressed her thighs. She could see the instant he'd decided to accept that excuse on the surface, and the apology beneath it.

"Ya not gonna stop, are ya?" She moved her hips forward. A noise came from his throat.

"Dat definitely be a stupid question, ya horny bint."


	13. Chapter 13

Meruda woke up alone in the little cot, and felt disappointed. After last night they'd both tumbled into the cot, to sleep. It had taken some shifting before they'd finally found an arrangement that worked with legs and arms, and fallen asleep. She'd enjoyed the feeling of a heavy, warm weight across her waist, and his tusks resting on her shoulder.

"Ya'd think ya'd get a bigger bed for company." She'd muttered.

"Ain't ever had company, why bother." He'd yawned back. The ridiculous amount of pleasure that thought gave her made her blush.

She lay back in the bed, thinking warm, happy muzzy thoughts that had been utterly alien before the last couple of days. She felt better, and it wasn't just the rather inordinate amount of sex. At least she was pretty sure it wasn't. She hadn't had nightmares because she'd been too tired to do anything but sleep. She hadn't cast a single shadow spell, and she hadn't felt that driving anger, that desperate need to kill things that used to be a daily occurrence. And maybe, she might have her friend back.

She'd missed that more than anything else, the having someone that she could run to, or write, or talk to when she was upset or hurting. Troll children were raised by the village, since parents were often serving in the army, or working in various locations. Having a parent to talk to was an alien concept, and half the time, troll children didn't really care who their parents were, unless they had done something heroic or spectacular. Friendships and alliances and mates were far more important than parents.

A frown creased her face. This respite was what she needed. But it couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, she'd have to make some decisions. She'd have to decide what she was going to do with her future.

It was with sadness that she admitted that staying here on the island forever wasn't an option. Neither she nor Zaljin were cut out to be domestic hermits. They both felt a strong sense of duty to serve the Horde and the Darkspear. And they were both proud of what they did, no matter how much Zaljin decried it, or she denied it. Neither one of them could really give that up.

But she knew that she didn't want to be a priest for the shadows any more. She was tired of death and destruction and pain.

_I could go back to school. Go see the head priest in Orgrimmar, and ask him to allow me to study with the light. _ The idea held strong appeal. A bit of her pride rebelled at having to go back to the novitiate rank, but the rest of her rejoiced in the idea. It wouldn't take that long, and it would allow herself to rebuild the part she'd spent the last five years trying to kill. She could bring relief, instead of pain.

_Zaljin._ That was harder. She wasn't sure what he was thinking or wanted. He seemed to take pleasure in being her lover, and the loa knew she still loved him as her best friend. But she wasn't about to use the m-word. The disaster of their youth had made that lesson perfectly clear. _I suppose we'll figure it out when the time comes. _She thought, determined not to put herself into a bad mood, when she was so happy. _If we end up just bein' friends, that'd be enough for me. _A small stab of disappointment made the lie hard to swallow. It wouldn't be enough, but if she couldn't have everything she wanted, then she'd settle for what she really needed. She rolled over, and dug in her pack until she found her "Holy Spells for Beginners" book. She kept it for the healing spells, but it wouldn't hurt to start boning up on the others.

Zaljin wasn't thinking deep thoughts. Mostly because he was trying to avoid getting killed by the herd of murlocs swimming after him, screaming their yodeling warcries. He turned around and shot the closest one with his crossbow, before swimming harder. Those stupid shell-point spears went flying by him. He wasn't sure how they managed to move so fast through the water, when his bolts only went half the distance at half-speed. Twenty more yards and he'd be out of the Vile Reef, and the murlocs would stop chasing him.

Ten more yards. A spear nicked his leg with its razor sharp point. He could feel that strange burning cold feeling that meant he was bleeding. He swore and swam faster. Bleeding in the waters around Stranglethorn Vale was a bad, bad idea. He was still 300' from the island when he saw the first fin. Two more appeared in the next ten feet. He dropped the crossbow, his hand reaching down for the dagger he'd strapped to his leg.

_Don't think about it. Just keep swimming in regular strokes. Try not to look delicious._ He made it another twenty feet before the first shark came for him. He stabbed it in the gills as it swam past, pushing himself over its body. And then he really started swimming. If he was lucky, the other sharks would attack the one he'd wounded and leave him alone.

When he looked back, there was still one swimming after him. The biggest one. He was about forty feet from the hut, when he turned to face it. It came in at him, and he swiped at it, yelling a curse at it, as its body slammed into his, the rough scales scraping at his side. The dagger missed as the shark circled back again. He took another breath, and ducked under the water, so he could watch it coming. Sooner or later he was going to lose the fight. The shark was in its element, and it had 50 knives to his one. He saw the black doll-like eyes roll over white, and then a fiery bright light blinded him. He swung out wildly, unable to see the shark, waiting to feel the teeth sinking into his flesh. A few seconds later, his vision cleared, and he saw the shark floating inches in front of him. Dead. With a hole burned right through it.

He looked towards the shore, and saw Meruda, looking frozen with big orange eyes. "I'm all right!" He yelled, waving. She gave a tiny little nod, and then sunk down to the sand, to gibber in a tight little ball, clutching her knees tightly to her chest.

"Bwonsamedi's balls, lady. Ya gonna faint 'cause I **don't** get eaten by a shark?" He muttered, even as he grabbed the carcass with one hand to knock out a couple of the teeth. He had plans for those. When he dragged himself on shore next to her, she was still shaking.

"I'm fine. T'anks for asking." He said helpfully.

She made a sort of wibbling noise in answer.

"Look, I'm sure the dark loa ain't gonna come cause you killed a shark to save a friend. Dat ain't a bad thing." He said carefully, reaching up to put a hand on her shoulder.

"N-n-no. Dey didn' come. But it was a good spell. Holy Fire. It shouldn't'a been that strong, but it was all I could think of."

"Den whatcha worried about?"

"Sh-sh-sh-sharks. You didn't tell me there were sh-sharks!"

Oops. She'd always been afraid of sharks. When the raft they'd made as children had sunk, she'd nearly drowned in panic, even though there weren't any fins visible. It'd taken him years to teach her how to swim, and back then she wouldn't go more than ten feet away from the sand.

"Don' be worried about the sharks. Dey like it deeper than here. Dat one only followed me because I got cut. We could leave it out there as a warning ta others, if it'd make ya feel better." He said, as he put the dagger back into its sheath on his thigh.

Her eyes focused a little on his face. "Ya got cut?"

He held out his leg so she could see. "It's just a scratch."

"Ya scraped up too."

He looked down at his ribs, "Eh. It happens. Don' worry 'bout it."

She reached over and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was dat for?"

"No gettin' eaten by sharks. New rule."

"You know da deal. I get to make a rule if you do." He said.

"Don' care. New rule, no gettin' eaten by sharks."

"What were some the other rules?" He asked. "We had a lot of them."

"No peeing in the cave." She said, immediately.

"It was one time. And it was rainin' like hell outside."

"That was enough. It was totally gross, with ya boy bits hangin' out."

"Ya weren't complaining last night about my bits. No more than three pets at a time."

"They weren't hangin' last night. No spiders as pets. Even if they're fuzzy and cute." She glanced at him.

"Ain' no damn t'ing as a cute spider. Dey all abominations." He muttered. He really hated spiders.

"So what's ya rule?" She asked.

"Next time ya mad at me, ya not allowed ta quit talkin' to me."

She didn't say anything for a few moments, before she said lightly, "I thought ya were gonna make a rule like "No clothes" or somethin'."

"Thought about it. But then I thought about how much I like takin' ya clothes off. Figured I'd go for somethin' more worthwhile." He said, absently sliding a hand up her leg as he lay back in the sand.

"Ya think I could get that mad at ya again?" She asked, a furrow appearing between her eyes. Was he preparing her for something?

"I don't pretend ta know the future lady. Maybe I accidentally break ya favorite staff. I just want ta make sure that no matter what happens, we won't go through dis all again."

She exhaled. "Ok. And get ya hand outta my robe."

"I just survived a vicious shark attack lady, ya could at least let a poor troll fondle ya thigh for comfort."

She slapped at his hand. "Maybe I shoulda let it eat ya."

"Ya sound awful cranky priestess." He reached up to pull her down to lie next to him, his arm going around her shoulders, and his hand sliding in to grab her breast, though he didn't make any further movements. "Which is amazin' ta me given how hard I've tried ta work it outta ya."

She relaxed into the comfortable space, between his side and arm. "Maybe **you** not that good at sex."

He snorted, too comfortable in the warm sand to rise to the bait. It was a nice day, he'd gotten what he wanted, and he had a handful of breast. "If ya don't like it lady, ya can find some other poor bastard of a troll ta wear out. I could use the sleep."

She pretended to think about it. "Nah. I suppose ya good enough." She let a great deal of doubt sound in her voice.

"Quit tryin' ta rile me inta banging ya like a storm door. It's nap time." She blushed. She had kind of started hoping he'd get mad again, and it was a little embarrassing to have her motives exposed so quickly.

"What were ya doin' out in deep water anyways?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I wanted ta get something." One corner of his mouth turned up.

"What?"

"Nunya."

"What's a Nunya?"

"As in, nunya business."

She hmphed. "I hope it was worth gettin' eaten for."

"Could be. I'll let ya know."

"Well, if ya gonna be cryptic, I'm gonna go put on my beach clothes and go fishing."

His ears perked up. "What beach clothes?"

She stood, and brushed the sand off her robe, before giving him a supremely haughty look. "What's it matter ta ya? It's ya naptime."

"Well, they aren't complicated ta get into are they? Cause I might be forced inta makin' another rule. "

"Thought ya liked things fiddly and difficult."

He pondered that. "Yeah, I do." He waved a hand royally. "Carry on then." He felt the rude gesture she sent him back was completely unwarranted.

When she stepped out again, he sat up, despite his best intentions. Apparently beachwear consisted only of a fluttery silk shawl knotted at the hip into a long skirt, and a single, completely inadequate piece of linen that crossed over the breasts and tied around her neck. And a floppy hat. He peered. "Are ya wearin' ya underdrawers?"

"Nunya." She said smugly, settling under the tree, with her pole in hand.

He groaned as the silk fluttered in the breeze, exposing a full length of thigh. "Ya gonna be the death of me lady."

"Then ya be dyin' for a good cause." She said with a sweet grin, before turning her attention back to her bobber.

He stood up and stretched, starting to walk towards her with every intention of checking for panty-lines, when he stopped, and sniffed the air. The dagger appeared in his hand for a split-second before it flew towards the roof of the hut.

Algida shimmered into view, the dagger quivering in the beam right next to his nether bits. "Ya bad at suckin' up ta ya boss. Another inch up and ya be fired."

"My boss oughta know better than ta sneak up on me." Said Zaljin, crossing his arms.

"I don't get outta dat office much. Can ya blame an old rogue for wantin' some practice?" Algida jerked the knife out and tossed it back. "Ya aim is off."

"My aim is perfect. Ya wanna sneak up on people, ya should quit smokin' that blend of fadeleaf and dwarven tobacco."

Algida ignored that, as he glanced over at Meruda. "Having a nice vacation? I see ya found some friendly company anyways."

"I was gonna send ya a postcard." Zaljin's lips twitched.

"I heard ya was bad hurt. The shaman in Grom'gol sent me a bill, just in case ya forgot about it."

Zaljin mentally snarled. So that was it. The shaman probably mentioned that the priestess hadn't healed him, and the dark spirits he'd sensed. Algida had come to see if Meruda needed to be put down, assuming Zaljin wouldn't be in a state to do it if she had gone bad.

"The Bloodsail objected to ya wanting ta know what they were up to. They wanted ta let me know they were a bit upset. I'm fine. An' still on vacation." Said Zaljin.

"Hi Algida. Don' tell me ya on vacation too." Meruda's mildly sarcastic tones came from behind Zaljin. She'd stood up and wandered over behind him.

Zaljin told himself he'd remember the look on Algida's face for special occasions. The long pause as Algida's hard, bright eyes went up and down Meruda's form, and then recognition hitting like a brick to the face. He recovered quickly. "Hi Meruda. Nah, I just came ta check on Zaljin. The Grom'gol shaman sent a note sayin' he got tore up."

"That's nice of ya. By the way, I be quittin' next week. I'm gonna go back ta train different." Meruda said, before turning and walking back to her spot under the tree. They both watched her walk away.

Algida stared at Zaljin, "Ya ain't quittin' too are ya?"

"Nah. "

"Good. Was startin' ta worry ya was considering settlin' down. Be a damn waste." Algida looked back over at the scantily-clad Meruda, who was making a cast with her pole, ignoring them both. "Maybe worth a few scars." He made a couple quiet gestures with his hands. _~She ain't wearin' no panties.~_

Zaljin shrugged. "Wouldn' be the end of the world. Ya got plenty of people, when ya not bein' stingy about reimbursements. Which reminds me. The Bloodsail stole all my equipment, and that's definitely related ta the job I did for ya." He gestured back. _~I know. Now go away.~_

"Ya can put ya request in the usual channels, where it will be denied in the usual way. We ain't made of money." Said Algida automatically. _~She not dangerous?~_

Zaljin shook his head. "Ya a stingy bastard, Algida. I see ya when I'm done relaxing." _~Might have been close. Is fine now. She going to train in the light.~_

Algida considered that, rubbing his chin. "Probably for da best. Don't strain nothin'. I got ya six months of work lined up." And with that he pulled the hearth-stone out of his pocket, and disappeared.

Zaljin massaged his face with one hand. He should have sent a note when they'd stopped for supplies. He turned to see Meruda looking at him. He lifted a shoulder innocently. "He gettin' old and paranoid."

"Uh huh." She yanked a firefin out of the water. "He came ta see if I was dangerous and if ya was dead or turned into a zombie." He didn't respond. There wasn't anything he could say to that. He walked over and sat down next to her. He glanced down at her skirt.

"He was right."

"What?" Meruda turned to look at him, shock on her face.

"Ya ain't wearin' any panties." He waggled both eyebrows. "He wasn' right 'bout the rest of it. Ya too strong ta fall."

"It was damn close." She muttered, staring at the water. "But I think it'll be fine now."

"Close only counts in hand-grenades." He said, hands busily working on the small item that he'd surreptitiously removed from his pouch.

"Whaddya mean he was right about me not wearing panties!"

"Delayed reaction much?" He muttered. "Look Mer, ya go walkin' around with no panties in a flimsy little silky thing, ya gotta expect that any male troll that ain't dead is gonna look and appreciate."

"Well, I didn't think anyone else was gonna see me." She mumbled, embarrassed.

"Don' worry about Algida. He half-zombie anyways. Ya probably just bought his mate a cuddle later. Think of it as a good deed."

She made a disparaging noise, even as she re-cast her line.


	14. Chapter 14

The night was quiet. Zaljin stared up at the biggest moon, which was full and bright. Meruda was pounding some of the herbs she'd collected up on the Hinterlands in a mortar, far enough away that they could both relax in the semblance of solitude. Algida's appearance had reminded them both of the world outside and waiting, and by unspoken agreement they had spent the rest of the afternoon in friendly but separate activities.

He'd spent an hour putting in another piling on the hut, while she cooked the fish she'd caught. She'd repaired the hem of her good robe while he'd sharpened the cheap daggers he'd bought at Booty Bay. He swept the sand out of the hut while she gave Daisy a bath.

Now he was lying in the sand, listening to the waves whisper as they rubbed against each other in foamy friendliness and enjoying the complacent satisfaction of having accomplished something useful while avoiding something else. He wasn't surprised when she came to sit down next to him.

"I suppose the vacation be over tomorrow." She said. She sounded calm, for which he was grateful.

"Ya week, at least."

"I s'pose it's been better than being a zombie."

He grinned, before saying seriously, "I wouldn't 've left ya there, anyways."

"I know. Now at least." She stretched out an arm to consider it. "And a tan looks better on me than deathly pallor."

"Dunno. I know a couple undead with a thing for that kinda look."

"Ew."

"Don't knock what ya ain't tried. Rumor has it they good at sewing on enhancements. Building on an extra story as it were." His gesture indicated what he was talking about.

"I'd be worried it'd break or fall off. And that just ain't fun for nobody."

"It can be a problem." He admitted. "I made ya something." He sat up, fishing a small package out of his pocket. He held it out to her.

She took it and peered at the fabric. "No wonder I had to hem my robe."

"The wrappin' paper store was closed today. Just open it, would ya?"

She unwrapped the little bundle. A small necklace tumbled into her lap. A blue pearl hung on a shimmering string of discs of iridescent murloc scale. Her fingertips hovered over the necklace. She didn't say anything.

He couldn't stand the silence. "I figured since ya burned the last murloc necklace I made ya, ya wouldn't mind a replacement."

She swallowed hard, and said in a choked voice, "Ya gotten better at making jewelry."

"It's a hobby. Carving rocks takes time, and gives me something ta do while I'm waiting around."

"This was ya nunya, wasn't it."

"Yeah, but if you don't like it, then it wasn' worth almost gettin' eaten."

"I like it." She opened the clasp and put it on. The necklace was just long enough so that the pearl fell right to the top of her cleavage.

"I didn't make ya anything." She said.

"Ya didn't have ta." He said quickly.

"But I got a present for ya too, sort of."

He blinked. "What?"

"Ya stuff's in the cabin."

"What?"

"Ya stuff. I found it when I killed the Bloodsail captain in his room. I didn't count it or anythin' but ya clothes and …" She blinked as he went zooming across the sand, to dive in the hut. "Blue pack!"

"Ya rotten woman!" He yelled from inside the hut. "Ya had 'em this whole time? When were ya gonna tell me?"

"Well, if the week went bad, I wasn't." She called back. "If it went real bad, I was gonna set it on fire for ya before I left. When things went good, it seemed a little harder ta bring up."

He grunted. "Glad ya didn't. That's my favorite dagger."

"And ya prob'ly get peed on by more gobbos if ya had ta go shopping in Booty Bay when ya cranky."

He came back out, and flopped back on his previous spot.

"Ya ain't mad?" She asked.

"Nah. If it'd been ta other way around, I'd probably do da same thing."

She grinned, a smile that was suddenly familiar to him, reminding him of her younger self. "Nah. Ya woulda waited to give it back until tomorrow."

"If it meant ya be walkin' around naked, ya damn right." The silence stretched out between them.

She tilted her head up to look at the moon. "Thank you."

"It's just a necklace lady. No need ta get gushy."

"I wasn' talkin' about the necklace."

"Oh." He reached up absently to run his fingers through her hair, removing a few traces of seaweed. "Don' be thankin' me. That implies that one of us did somethin' more for the other, when from where I was sittin' it seemed mutually beneficial." He waggled his eyebrows, feeling strangely uncomfortable under the weight of the conversation.

"Ya always makin' jokes when the conversation gets serious."

"Best way ta avoid it."

She laughed. "At least ya sense of humor's gotten better." There was just the tiniest of wobbles in her voice.

He sighed. "Yeah. Comes with gettin' older. Ya realize what's funny and what ain't. What's important, what ain't." He reached over to hold her hand. "I be glad I got my friend back."

She sniffled. "Me too."

"Hey, no cryin' allowed on vacation. New rule."

She hiccupped. "That's a dumb rule. I can cry on my vacation if I want to." She swiped at her eyes with a handful of sleeve.

"Nope. It's a rule." He looked at her anxiously. "Sides if ya start cryin' then Deathclaw will start howling, then Daisy will start snarling, and ain't nobody gonna be happy."

"Fine. New rule. Ya have ta promise to write me or come visit at least once a month, so ... so I know ya ain't dead in a ditch somewhere."

"Only if ya write me back."

"Fine." She scooted over until she was snuggled up next to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.

"What time is the blimp leavin' tomorrow?" She asked.

"First one's at dawn. Last one's at sunset."

"It's a long ride to Orgrimmar."

"It is."

"Probably should catch the first one."

"Probably."

"I s'pose we oughta sleep some then. Be a long day tomorrow."

"We oughta." His tone of voice was noncommittal.

She picked her head up to smile at him. "But we ain't gonna, are we?"

"Hell no. Plenty of time ta sleep when ya dead."

They got back to Orgrimmar around mid-afternoon. A wave of anxiety hit her as soon as the gates came into view. Going back to the temple for training at her age was embarrassing. Did she really want to do this? Zaljin watched her re-buckle the saddle for the fourth time, before he said anything.

"It's not that weird, ya know. Lots of priests go back for other training when their older." He said.

"How would you know?" She snapped.

"Cause Buli is dating one of 'em who's workin' on being a battle priest. The kind that goes out and hunts the Alliance. She decided she wanted to be more proactive about wound prevention. She's also fifteen years older 'n he is."

"Buli from the village Buli?"

"Yeah."

"Fifteen years?"

"Yeah. He likes 'em mature. Got a mommy complex or somethin'. So stop fiddlin' with the damn strap and get on ya raptor already. Stallin' ain't gonna help."

"Ya not the boss of me." She muttered grumpily.

"I'll ask Algida for a promotion. C'mon Mer, I'm starving and there's a rack of ribs and a jug of beer with my name on it."

"Ya coulda had some of my spider legs."

"I don't eat elfy food. It's bad for ya health."

She got on her raptor, with a deep breath.

"Race ya. Loser buys lunch." She said, before digging her heels into Daisy's ribs.

"What?"

Daisy was already streaking toward the gates.

"That is CHEATING!" He yelled, even as he nudged Deathclaw with his knees.

He might have still won if it hadn't been for a goblin with a bad sense of timing that got kicked over the auction house when Deathclaw tripped over him.

They both stood in front of the priest quarters. Meruda sighed. "Six months of re-trainin'." She turned to look at him, "Remember, ya promised ta write."

"I remember." He said with a grin. "I'll see ya later." And he rode off.

She watched him go, before turning and heading into the main hut. _~Vacation's over. We both gotta get back ta our lives. Different worlds. ~ _She told herself firmly.

But she would have been lying if she denied a small part of her wished it was different.

Algida hadn't been lying when he said he had a lot of work lined up. He handed Zaljin a packet of papers almost three inches thick. Zaljin flipped through the first couple of pages until he found the assignment location. "Silithus?"

Algida didn't look up as he worked his way through the thousands of forms and reports on his desk. "Gobbos down there be bitchin' about some kinda bug problem. Druids reporting same thing in Feralas. Shamans moaning about the end of the world or some shit. Go find out if it's actually a problem or tree-huggin' crap."

"What's the matter Algida, couldn't find anything further away?"

"I've got another one up in Winterspring if ya like that one better. Ya never bitched about the distance before." Algida's bright little eyes narrowed at Zaljin. "Somethin' change I should know about?"

"Nah. I just gettin' tired of long flights." Zaljin stood up and left the office, papers tucked away. "I'll head out as soon as I get some stuff fixed up."

Meruda tossed on the cot, the woven leather straps that made up the hammock portion squealing in protest, as she flipped from one side to the other. She couldn't sleep.

The first day hadn't been bad, but it'd still involved a lot of uncomfortable conversations. Owazi had listened to her reason for requesting re-training with a solemn silence that had unnerved her. When she finished, mentioning the loa dream, and her own resolve not to do any more magic until she was certain that it was for the right reason, he nodded twice. He got up, arthritic joints creaking, and hobbled around the desk to squeeze her shoulder.

"I be glad ya ain't lost to us daughter. It's a hard, hard thing ta resist the darkness once it digs its claws in deep. Sometimes I be thinkin' we shouldn't teach the dark at all. But that ain't in balance, and it ain't my decision. We teach ya the ways of the light this time." He patted her shoulder, before asking gently, "Is that all that's troublin' ya? Ya seemed a bit sad when ya came in."

"Nah. Just a little embarrassed about havin' ta come back ta school like a youngling." She lied.

Old Owazi stared hard at her for a moment, before saying cheerfully, "Ya ain't gonna get treated like a youngling, kiddo. Lessons gonna be much harder. Think of it like taking an advanced course. And ya get ta help teach da younglings, 'cause it's the best way ta learn yaself and 'cause we short-handed. C'mon, I'll take ya up ta ya room so ya can get settled."

As soon as she'd dropped her packs on the floor of the tiny room on the third floor, he'd insisted she get introduced to everyone in the huts, from the smallest youngling to the oldest cook, hobbling up and down the various stairs and around the huts without any sign that his arthritis or age was slowing him down. By the time they'd finished with the tour, Meruda was starting to wish she'd slept last night, and wondering what the hell Owazi drank that gave him so much energy.

He'd taken her back to her room, and she'd started to think happily about a nap when he asked her to write a letter to Mother Dismay, because apparently the old priestess had demanded that she be told if Meruda ever came back. That had been surprisingly difficult. She felt like she ought to mention Zaljin yet was absolutely certain that she didn't want to talk about him. She wanted to keep that week to herself. She didn't want anyone to judge her for it, or even inflict cynical thoughts on it. In the end, she settled for writing fully about the loa dream, and her decision, with a single line mentioning that she'd also regained her friendship with Zaljin along the way.

By the time she was done with her letter, it was dinner time, and the chaotic noise of the common dining hut compounded the headache she'd already started. After dinner, she was informed that the newest arrival to the temple always had to do the dishes. By the time she dragged back up the three flights of stairs after having washed every pot in the kitchen she was ready to fall asleep.

And yet she couldn't. Alone with her thoughts at last, in a strange bed and a strange place, she felt overwhelmingly lonely. When she'd felt like this growing up, she'd talked to one of her pets. Now she was a grown-up and didn't have any pets to talk to, and she was in a building full of relative strangers. And she missed Zaljin. She found herself bursting with things she wanted to tell him, but she had a whole month to wait before she heard from him again. If she heard from him again. He might even have already left Orgrimmar. She decided it was completely justified to cry herself silly tonight, and go get a pet tomorrow from the auction house.

She had just gotten to the hiccupping stage after a bitter flood of tears and snot, and was wiping her nose on her sleeve when a familiar voice said from the window, "Mer? What's wrong?"

She froze in confusion. She couldn't decide if she was happier because Zaljin was sitting on her windowsill when she wanted to see him or madder because she was embarrassed he caught her crying. She sat up, scrubbing her face with the sleeve of her robe, before turning to look at him.

"Nothin'. Just been a rough day, and I figured it wouldn' bother anyone tonight." She mumbled.

He slid off the windowsill, and walked over to sit next to her on the bed. "Why's it been so bad? Old Owazi's supposed ta be the good sort."

"It's .. just strange, and startin' over, and ... and it's been a crazy week." She sniffed, mad that she couldn't get her voice to cooperate.

He stared hard at her for a second. "And ya thought I meant good-bye when I said see ya later. Ya know, for a priest, ya don't listen too good." He put an arm around her, and she snuggled into his side, glad of the chance to duck her head, as she sniffed.

"I thought ya were emphasizing being friendly, without bein' serious. The way it was before. And it'd be ok if ya were."

"Lady, ya gotta quit thinkin' with that brain. I'm startin' ta think it's defective."

She punched him lightly in the leg. "What's that supposed ta mean?"

"It means that maybe I don't want ta go back ta the way it was before. Ya weren't naked nearly as much for one thing."

She didn't say anything for a long few moments, as she let herself pretend for a few moments that such a thing might work out. She shook her head as she forced herself to say, "It wouldn't work. Ya ain't cut out for living in a village, and neither am I. We'd drive each other nuts, and hate each other for feelin' trapped. It wouldn't work."

"Ya absolutely right." He agreed. Her heart sunk even lower. "But who says we'd have ta be living in a village ta have somethin' better?"

She shook her head. "Ya not makin' sense."

"Just 'cause somethin's the way everyone else does it, doesn't have ta be the way we do it Mer. There's no rule sayin' we can't be together if we don't live in the village. Ya go do your thing, I go do mine, we meet in the middle bits. Maybe some missions we go do together when ya done with school. Lots more people be doin' that sort of thing now, with the hostilities escalatin' in Warsong and Southshore." He paused and said, a little uncertainly, "It'd be enough for me Mer. But I dunno if it'd be enough for you. Cause it's either you or nobody for me, but I'd understand if ya couldn't do that sorta life and I'd be happy for ya."

She glared at him angrily. "How do you know it's me or nobody? It's crazy ta be that sure after a week. Ya could meet the love of ya life tomorrow in the street, and then ya'd feel like a real goober!" _~And I'd be heartbroken._

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I known the important part of ya a lot longer than a week, Mer. The core of ya don't change, no matter what happens ta ya. I'm not sayin' ya the same person ya were then, cause ya ain't, and I ain't either. But I always loved ya, in that real scary sort of way."

"Ya mean the kind of way where ya just want the other one ta be happy, and ya don't care what it costs ya ta give it to 'em." She mumbled.

"Yeah. Dat way."

"Maybe when we were kids, ya did. Ya just .. just high off a nice week." Her hands were twining hard in the fabric of her robe, and her voice was husky and shaking.

"Ya used ta be braver, Mer, but ya ain't ever been a liar. Could ya look me in the eyes and tell me ya don't love me, right now?"

"Of course not, ya my best friend." She mumbled.

"Is that all ya want from me?"

The internal struggle was epic. Insecurities fought with what she really wanted, while fear played on both sides. Finally, she whispered, "No. But I don't t'ink I could survive losing ya again. I'd rather have ya as a friend than go through that."

"Ya always underestimate ya'self. Ya'd survive just fine. I might not, after ya got done being mad, but ya'd eventually be ok. Maybe in prison, but ok." He teased, as hope released that tight knot of tension that had been building in his chest while she'd remained silent.

She snorted, and muttered, "I wouldn't get caught." with a shadow of her old confidence.

"Sometimes Mer, ya gotta go on faith. And let me tell choo what a weird thing that is for me ta be tellin' ta ya. Trust me when I tell ya I only ever been close ta one person, and dat be you. There just ain't room for anyone else the way ya under my skin. I was at the auction house ta get a new dagger, and instead I find myself gettin' dis pissy little monster cause ya didn' have a pet, and no matter what ya say, ya always needed ya stupid pets."

He reached under the bed for the bag he'd dropped there. For the first time Meruda could hear muffled snarling noises. He reached in gingerly, and pulled out a golden cage, holding it at arms' length. Inside was a light blue furry spider, about the size of her palm, hissing and chittering angrily.

"The damn thing was an egg when I bought it, but it hatched on me." He shivered as he recalled reaching into his bag and feeling something reach back.

Her eyes filled up with tears all over again, as she stared at the utterly adorable spider with eight big brown eyes, as it threw itself against the bars of the cage in a full-out tantrum. He'd gotten her a pet spider. HE had gotten HER a SPIDER. He hated spiders. She'd always loved them and the beauty of their webs. In fact it had been her fault that he'd nearly been eaten by giant spiders when they were young because she'd been trying to catch one for a pet. After that she hadn't gotten a spider for a pet because of his feelings.

She reached out with shaking hands, and opened the cage, reaching in to scoop the baby spider out, and stroke its furry back gently. It calmed down immediately once it was out of its cage, shrinking down close to her hand. He shuddered and slid away from her about a foot.

"I still don't like those things." He warned.

"Ya love me." She said, softly.

"I been tryin' ta tell ya that." He said with exasperation.

"Yeah. Ya have." She lifted the spider to eye-level. "I'm gonna name ya Mookie."

"What's wrong with somethin' accurate? Like Horrible Monster or Bad Idea."

"Don'cha listen ta him Mookie. She's a Smolderweb from Blackrock. It's probably been cold in ya bags. That's why she be so angry. They like it warm." She walked over to the little dresser in the room, and opened a drawer, laying the spider down on top of her spare robes. The spider immediately burrowed in the soft cloth.

"It's lyin' in ambush." He warned.

"Ya breakin' a rule ya know." She turned and smiled at him

"Eh. Maybe it wasn't a good rule." He couldn't help staring at the look on her face as she walked back over. It was soft and vulnerable and so warm with affection, and open that he was transfixed. He'd always thought she was pretty, but that expression made her beautiful. It would have been worth buying a thousand spiders to see that look, knowing it was for him. "I mean, ya like the disgusting t'ings."

She cupped his face in her hands and leaned in to kiss him with all the love she felt, even as tears rolled down her face.

When she pulled away, he stated, "Ya love me." She nodded.

"Was that so damn hard?" He demanded in a false-angry tone, as he pulled her in to sit on his lap.

"It was." She kissed him again. "It really was."

The kisses grew more serious. Clothes fell away. The euphoria carried them both away, until they forgot everything and everyone around them. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, the bed banging and bouncing on the floor, when Owazi poked his head in.

"Meruda, I know this be ya first day and all, but we got rules about fornicatin'. Mainly keep it the hell down. Ya wakin' everyone up." He said sleepily, as both Zaljin and Meruda froze in surprise. "And ya just volunteered ta be teaching sexual education ta the fifth years, so ya can explain why ya been bouncing ya bed on their ceiling at two in the mornin'. Nice ta meet ya young man. G'night!" With that he left again, shutting the door firmly on a purple-faced Meruda, and a snickering Zaljin behind him.

"It's not funny!" She hissed in mortification.

"Yeah it is." He grinned down at her, and kissed her on the nose.

"Ya not the one that's gonna have ta explain it ta younglings."

He nibbled on the side of her neck. "Want me ta come provide practical demonstration? Could be kinky."

"Pervert." She tried to glare at him, but ended up making a 'mmm' noise as he nuzzled her neck.

"Ya love me." He said smugly.

"Maybe. I might change my mind."

"No take-backs on ya loving me." He started moving again, more slowly so as not to make the bed bang on the floor. Her legs tightened around him, her toes sliding down to his calves. He ducked his head to suck on a nipple.

She bit him on the shoulder to muffle the screech of pleasure. "Ya ain't helpin' on this quiet thing." She hissed.

He just lifted an eyebrow and grinned wickedly. "I ain't the one he told ta be quiet." He started moving again, and Meruda groaned behind clenched teeth.

The next morning Meruda went downstairs with Mookie sitting on her shoulder to breakfast, jaw squared to meet what she was sure would be an embarrassing plethora of stares. Instead, the only person who appeared to notice her arrival was Owazi, who grunted a good morning, focusing on his food.

She had made herself a plate, and was sitting down to eat it, when Owazi grunted, "By the way, Mother Dismay is here. She wants ta see ya."

"What?" Meruda still wasn't any better at mornings, and she couldn't remember Mother Dismay ever leaving the village before. What Owazi was saying didn't make any more sense than saying the sun hadn't risen that day.

"Ya heard me girl. Go see her after breakfast. She out on the rocks up front smokin'."

Meruda hastily emptied her plate, and headed out front. The old priestess had gotten fatter and more wrinkled over the last five years, but the pipe and the way she sat with her spine straight as a board hadn't changed.

"Mother Dismay, whatchoo doin' here? Ya ain't never left the village before, have ya?"

Mother Dismay fixed her with a look, staring into her eyes so long, Meruda started to feel naked. Eventually, she blew out a smoke ring, and said, "Wanted ta know if ya hurt was fixed. Ya letter didn't say nothin' about that boy 'cept ya were friendly again."

Meruda sat down upon a rock, trying to figure out how to answer. "Yeah. I think it be fixed." She paused. "How'd ya know?"

"Got eyes, girl. Ya ain't the first youngling I raised, but ya had the most power I'd seen in five years. Scared me ta death when I could see all that pain in ya. Dark Loa come that way, and power be the hardest to resist, especially when ya mad at the world."

Meruda looked down at her hands, a question rising unbidden to her lips, "Why didn't ya warn me? Say somethin'? Tell me what could happen? I hurt so much.."

"And how would ya have reacted? Ain't no hurt in the world like a young broken heart. If I'd started lecturin' ya about how ya needed ta forgive th' boy for ya own sake, what would ya have done?" asked the priestess quietly. "Ya would have been angry at me, maybe run away. Only thing I could do was teach ya ta control ya power, best I could, and hope ya was strong enough to handle it. I put a flea in the boy's ear though. Not that he listened at th' time. Young trolls don't never listen 'less ya sayin' what they want ta hear."

Meruda thought about it. Mother Dismay was right. If the senior priestess had come out with it, Meruda's own embarrassment and anger would have driven her away.

"Ya was too sensitive. Power makes ya that way, cause ya in tune to the spirits, and they twangin' on ya emotions." The old priestess continued. "I know. S'why I drink. Drowns 'em out."

"He loves me." Meruda said quietly, and a little hesitantly. "But I'd already decided I couldn't walk the shadow path no more. The loa dream.. it wasn't what I wanted ta be."

"He always did love ya girl, though maybe not in the physical sense. But half-grown men be stupider than the full-grown sorts, especially when it comes ta sex." Mother Dismay got an unpleasant glint in her eye. "If I'd thought he'd hurt ya on purpose, or 'cause he didn' really care, I'd have skinned him alive. But I could tell he was real sorry, though he wasn't grown up enough to know how ta fix it." The priestess puffed on the foul-smelling pipe, and they sat in silence. "Ya was always meant for the light side. Ya cared too much 'bout all the living things ta be a dark one. "

"Ya came all this way ta tell me that?" Meruda realized it sounded a little rude, but she was still confused at seeing her old mentor.

"That, and I wanted ta look at ya. I've seen a lot of younglings. Most ain't near as much trouble as ya, but they ain't worth as much neither." The old priestess harrumphed suddenly, as if bothered. "I wanted ta be sure I'd done the right thing back then. Back then, I wanted ta warn ya. To try and make ya pain less. It damn near killed me, seein' ya go from a happy young thing ta a hollow-eyed mass of hurtin', and not doin' anything was one of the hardest things I had ta do."

Meruda stared out into the streets of Orgrimmar, shocked by the priestess' admission. "I didn't realize …" She trailed off before saying 'you cared'. Mother Dismay had been an ever-present figure in her life, but she'd never given consideration to how the old priestess felt towards her charges, never realized that the old priestess might take an interest beyond how well they were learning, and how soon they'd be ready to leave. She'd never once thought of confiding in her, of confessing all the anger and rage she felt, and Meruda immediately felt both shame and like an utter fool.

"And I should've realized." Meruda said. "I'm sorry I didn't talk ta ya back then. Maybe it woulda made things easier."

The older priestess shrugged a shoulder. "It don't matter now. I'm just glad ya found ya true self again." Mother Dismay knocked the ashes out of her pipe. "And the boy too, I guess."

"I don't know if I found all of it yet. But maybe I will. Takes a while to heal wounds that deep."

"Yes, it will. Listen to Owazi, he get ya head on right. The way the spirits is mutterin', the world might be needin' ya power soon. Dark things movin' around, dark spirits gettin' stronger. The old gods be wakin' up." Mother Dismay repacked her pipe. "Ya got a class ta teach I hear, better get to it."

Meruda muttered, "I'd hoped that was a joke."

"Owazi don't never joke. Best learn that one now," said Mother Dismay.

Meruda stood up, and brushed her skirt off. "I guess I'd better get going, then." She stood there awkwardly, for a moment before leaning down to give Mother Dismay a brief hug. "I appreciate ya.. ya coming to see me."

The old troll harrumphed again. "Don' get mushy. Ya got work ta do, and I gotta get back ta the village." She scrambled to her feet with an alacrity that belied her age. "I told Owazi ya was a good learner. Don't make me a liar."

Meruda laughed, "I'll try not to. But it's been a long time since I was in school."

Mother Dismay patted her on the shoulder. "If ya survive the fifth years wantin' ya ta teach 'em about sex, ya will be fine." With a hoarse cackle, she headed off down the road to the windrider tower with surprising speed.

Meruda sighed, and headed back inside the temple.


End file.
